Checkout and Countdown of the Larger Space Probe Missiles

While it is obvious that missiles for different space programs carry widely different electronic equipment, it is not so apparent that missiles on the same program may carry just as wide a variety of equipment. Checkout and countdown equipment must be versatile, not only because of the variety of electronic airborne equipment, but because of the special needs of research and development programs and for follow-on programs. Moreover, the equipment must offer a high level of performance reliability, so that the operator may concentrate on firing the missile. The design of the centrally programmed checkout and countdown set presented here incorporates digital techniques. The punched tape supplies those commands that are subject to frequent change, such as GO-NO-GO limits- and mode and range commands for the parameter converters. Manual operation and visual evaluation are possible. These provisions also raise follow-on utility. Use of the design criteria of self-verification at every step, positive malfunction localization, standby verification and design simplicity yield a design with a high level of performance reliability.