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Show The White Sands Missile Ranger Published in the interest of tha personnel of White Sands Mis-51-White Sands Missile Range, New Mexi( Friday, October 1, 7977 Pershing (Continued from Page 1) the firings. This evaluation will represent Phase I of the product improvement test program for the P-1A-Improved missile. This program is a responsibility of the U. S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (TECOM), immediate higher headquarters of WSMR. It is being conducted by elements of WSMR's Army Missile Test and Evaluation Directorate (ARMTE), in cooperation with the other participating agencies. In ARMTE, the tests are under the General Support Artillery Project Branch headed by Thomas E. Jameson. ARMTE project engineer is Paul K. Arthur. Coordinator at McGregor Range is W. E. Worthy. Pershing project engineer for National Range Operations Directorate is Keith E. Floren. Site commander at McGregor Range is Lee Woodard. The program is supported by a field crew from the Pershing Project Manager's Office of the U. S. Army Missile Command. The crew is headed by .James F. Conner. Also providing support is a team of umpires representing the U. S. Army Field Artillery Missile Systems Evaluation Group (FAMSEG), of Ft. Sill. -" Martin Marietta representatives at McGregor are headed by Paul Willis. Coordinator for ARMTE participation in the contractor •»: tests is John Bayer. ;/ The Pershing missile, with a ;;.• range of up to 400 miles, has ;; been operational since 1963. In ;•'• the off-range firing program, •• Pershings have been fired £, previously from Hueco Range, t; from Ft. Wingate, N. M., and !/ from three launch sites in '•'•• southwestern Utah. Pershing series to continue from ' -• '• ' •••'•:.?'.:•'.. : .'''•". . • ' ' •'".'•''' '-"'* McGregor Range EDITOR'S NOTE: Late word from McGregor Range yesterday afternoon at press-time indicated the scheduled launch of a Pershing missile was in a state of "hold." The countdown had proceeded to T-minus three minutes prior to the "hold" and was expected to be continued momentarily. The second round in the U. S, Army's fall series of Pershing missile firings from McGregor Range was scheduled Thursday afternoon. The two-stage artillery missile was programmed to impact in the northern part of White Sands Missile Range. The annual service practice round was to be fired by a battery of the 3rd Battalion, 9th Artillery, from Ft. Sill, Okla. The dual-purpose firing was to be the second of a five-round series in the Pershing contractor's Engineering Design Test (EOT) program. Designated as Model P-1A-Improved, the missiles being fired in the fall series incorporate a newly designed guidance and control section in the missile and an improved power station in the ground support equipment. The firing program is supported by elements of WSMR and the U. S. Army Missile Command of Redstone Arsenal, Ala., as well as Ft. Sill agencies and the contractor. Prime contractor for Pershing systems is the Martin Marietta Corp., Orlando, Fla. The extension area north of WSMR was to be evacuated for Thursday's firing. U. S. Highway 54, between Oro Grande and Newman, was to be closed during the launch operations at McGregor Range. The first round in the fall series was fired at McGregor last week. The flight was terminated shortly after launch by a malfunction, the cause of which was determined and corrected. Units of the 3rd Battalion, 9th Artillery, formerly known as the 2nd Battalion, 44th Ar- tillery, were to fire the first two rounds in the fall series. The 3rd Battalion provides support services to all other units firing missiles in the Pershing off-range program. Elements of the Seventh U. S. Army, stationed in Europe, will fire the last three rounds in the fall series. These are expected to be scheduled during, the weeks of Oct. 10, Oct. 17 and Oct. 24. Performance evaluation data are being collected during (Continued on Page 5) Distributed to military and civilian personnel on White Sands Missile Range. Published weekly by Zla Newspapers, Las Criices, N. M. a private firm in no way connected with Department of the Army. Opinions expressed by publishers and writers herein are their own and are not to be considered an official expression of Department of the Army. Appearance of advertisements in this publication does not constitute an endorsement by Department of the Army of products or services., |
