4 ms·

There was error checking, but not security. Each bit was expanded to a 5-bit sequence, so bit errors could be detected. The message started with a 3-bit vehicle

by kens 4y ago

There was error checking, but not security. Each bit was expanded to a 5-bit sequence, so bit errors could be detected. The message started with a 3-bit vehicle address, so separate messages could be delivered to the Command Module and the Lunar Module. For the range safety officer's destruct control, NASA did use cryptographic security because they wanted to make sure the Russians couldn't blow up the spacecraft. This was an entirely separate system. The control unit used a secret plug that encoded the "key", that was installed just before launch so nobody could spoof the command.

TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
> For the range safety officer's destruct control What was this? Never heard of it. Anywhere I can read about it? It was a remote controlled destruct??
- kens 4y ago
  Yes, the Range Safety Officer could send a coded command to "terminate the flight of an erratic vehicle" by cutting off the engine and "dispersing the propellant". Each of the three stages in the Saturn V rocket had linear shaped charges to blow up the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks. [1] The astronauts would hopefully be pulled to safety by the launch escape system, the rocket engine on the top of the capsule. [1] See https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/pdf/19700015780_as-505-a10-saturn-v-technical-info-summary.pdf https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/pdf/19700015780_as-505-a... pages 14-15.
- jffry 4y ago
  NASA has a page with lots of info about their range safety program: https://kscsma.ksc.nasa.gov/RangeSafety https://kscsma.ksc.nasa.gov/RangeSafety And yes the rockets had shape charges in each stage which can be activated to destroy the rocket in a controlled fashion. If you have a rocket gone haywire, it's better to jettison the crew capsule to safety and do a controlled demolition, to prevent the rocket from flying out of control and crashing into structures or people on the ground. This is also why rocket launch sites tend to be coastal locations with ocean to the east - there's a lot less valuable stuff under their flight path.

by kens 4y ago

TedDoesntTalk 4y ago

> For the range safety officer's destruct control What was this? Never heard of it. Anywhere I can read about it? It was a remote controlled destruct??

kens 4y ago
Yes, the Range Safety Officer could send a coded command to "terminate the flight of an erratic vehicle" by cutting off the engine and "dispersing the propellant". Each of the three stages in the Saturn V rocket had linear shaped charges to blow up the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks. [1] The astronauts would hopefully be pulled to safety by the launch escape system, the rocket engine on the top of the capsule. [1] See https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/pdf/19700015780_as-505-a10-saturn-v-technical-info-summary.pdf https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/pdf/19700015780_as-505-a... pages 14-15.
jffry 4y ago
NASA has a page with lots of info about their range safety program: https://kscsma.ksc.nasa.gov/RangeSafety https://kscsma.ksc.nasa.gov/RangeSafety And yes the rockets had shape charges in each stage which can be activated to destroy the rocket in a controlled fashion. If you have a rocket gone haywire, it's better to jettison the crew capsule to safety and do a controlled demolition, to prevent the rocket from flying out of control and crashing into structures or people on the ground. This is also why rocket launch sites tend to be coastal locations with ocean to the east - there's a lot less valuable stuff under their flight path.