This report satisfies the requirements specified in R & D Exhibit 56-8, dated 9 February 1956. This exhibit covers the work necessary to provide the Advanced Reconnaissance System with a comprehensive reliability review to establish system design goals. The exhibit states that electronic component parts selected for this system, in conjunction with application criteria, must have a level of reliability such that the probability of 10,000 hours successful system operation is great. Probabilities of successful operation for 17, 250, 1000, and 3500 hours must also be determined. In this work, the application of the component quite frequently is such that the number of hours of successful operation necessary for a successful performance of the ARS mission is considerably below 10,000 hours. For example, certain transmitting equipment in the vehicle will have to operate for only 800 hours out of the entire year of orbital life. In several instances, there was only fragmentary informition available. In these cases, then--the nuclear source and the orbital altitude and sensing control equipment--a valid discussion of reliability was impossible without more detailed data.
展开▼
