The Complete Book of Spaceflight: From Apollo 1 to Zero Gravity

424 surveillance satellites
milliwatt-level radio frequency signals in the X-, Ku-, and
Ka-bands. These signals support research and development
experiments supporting future implementation of
Ka-band communications, tests of new 11-m ground stations
built to support the Space Very Long Baseline Interferometry
project, and training of ground station
personnel. From conception through launch, the spacecraft
cost about $3 million, including design, fabrication,
test, and launch integration.
surveillance satellites
Military spacecraft that provide reconnaissance (spy) data
in the form of high-resolution visible, infrared, and radar
imagery.
Surveyor
A highly successful series of NASA/JPL (Jet Propulsion
Laboratory) spacecraft that soft-landed on the Moon
between 1966 and 1968 and, together with the Ranger
and Lunar Orbiter programs, helped prepare for the
Apollo manned landings. Once the early Surveyors had
demonstrated an ability to make successful midcourse
corrections and soft-landings (proving in the process that
the lunar surface was not covered in a thick layer of dust,
as some scientists had feared), the remaining Surveyors
were used to evaluate potential Apollo landing sites.
Seven spacecraft were launched, of which five arrived
safely on the Moon and returned data. Surveyor 3 was
the first of the series to carry a surface-sampling device
with which the spacecraft excavated four trenches up to
18 cm deep. Eighteen months later, the crew of Apollo
12 landed nearby and recovered Surveyor 3’s TV camera
and other parts. Laboratory analysis showed, astonishingly,
that terrestrial bacteria had remained alive in the
camera’s insulation during its time on the Moon. Surveyor
6 became the first spacecraft to (temporarily) lift
off from the surface of another world. On November 17,
1967, its engines were fired for 2.5 seconds, enabling it to
Surveyor Missions
rise 3.7 m above the ground. It was then commanded to
move 2.4 m in a westerly direction and then touch down
again. Following this maneuver, it continued its datagathering
mission, including the return of 30,027 pictures.
(See table, “Surveyor Missions.”)
Launch
Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur IIIC (Surveyors 1 to 3, 6 to 7),
Atlas-Agena (Surveyors 4 to 5)
Site: Cape Canaveral
survival in space
See space survival.
suspended animation
A technique, popular in science fiction, and familiar
through such films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and
Alien, in which astronauts are placed in a state of deep
hibernation for long-duration spaceflights. In the late
1960s to early 1970s, NASA ran a program to investigate
“depressed metabolism” but abandoned it when it was
clear that the technology was not available to make it feasible.
Progress may be made by further observation of
mammals, such as bears, that go into a deep slumber
while still maintaining a sufficient level of metabolism to
keep their kidneys from shutting down. More primitive
creatures, including tardigrades, which display the extraordinary
condition of cryptobiosis (where metabolism all
but stops), may also have something to teach us. But
whether techniques such as cryonics, which seeks to
freeze individuals for later revival, will ever be usefully
applied in space travel remains to be seen.
sustainer engine
A rocket engine that stays with a spacecraft during ascent
after the booster has dropped off. It sustains or steadily
increases the spacecraft’s speed during ascent.
Lunar Landing
Spacecraft Launch Date Date Location Mass (kg)
Surveyor 1 May 30, 1966 Jun. 2, 1966 Ocean of Storms 269
Surveyor 2 Sep. 20, 1966 Sep. 22, 1966 (crashed) Sinus Medii 292
Surveyor 3 Apr. 17, 1967 Apr. 20, 1967 Ocean of Storms 283
Surveyor 4 Jul. 14, 1967 Jul. 17, 1967 (lost contact) Sinus Medii 283
Surveyor 5 Sep. 8, 1967 Sep. 11, 1967 Sea of Tranquility 279
Surveyor 6 Nov. 7, 1967 Nov. 10, 1967 Sinus Medii 280
Surveyor 7 Jan. 7, 1968 Jan. 10, 1968 Tycho North Rim 280