A 2-kw S-Band Re-Entry Telemetry System

Abstract

Instrumentation of high-velocity re-entry rocket systems at Sandia Laboratories has been complicated because of dependence on onboard magnetic tape recorders to store data until the carrier emerges from the radiofrequency blackout. This paper describes an approach designed to minimize the effect of the RF blackout by means of employing a sampled data system the output of which consists of 1-μsec pulses of 2-kw RF power level. The effort was initiated in the spring of 1970 for the purpose of obtaining real-time data during the re-entry blackout phase of a Sandia re-entry flight test. Re-entry velocities in the vicinity of 25,000 fps are expected.