The Downrange Anti-missile Measurement Program or DAMP was an applied research project to obtain scientific data, just prior to and during re-entry, on intermediate- and intercontinental-range ballistic missiles as they returned to earth. The program was funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) under the technical direction of the Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) during the period 1 January 1959 through 30 September 1963.
Project organization
The downrange facility was a Liberty-class merchant vessel renovated and converted for its technical assignment and renamed the USAS American Mariner. Its measurement equipment complex included C-band, L-band and UHF radars; digital and analog recorders; gyroscope stabilization; timing generators; mode switching; telemetry acquisition apparatus; radiometers and riometers; boresight cine-TV and other photographic systems; communications and Transit Satellite navigation system.
As a complementary measurement facility to the DAMP ship, the Electromagnetic Research Laboratory at Moorestown, New Jersey, contained C- and L-band radar measurement equipment complete with digital and analog recording system in a range-support-tower combination for full-scale cross-section measurements under static conditions with orthogonal polarizations. Recorded analog data from this facility were provided for immediate use.
Data from both measurement facilities underwent necessary processing at the Riverton, New Jersey, data reduction center, a part of the Data Analysis Laboratory.
Foremost among DAMP Program objectives were to:
Support AMM system designs. Support penetration aids program. Support AICBM weapon-system evaluation Provide scientific information on space environments and hypersonic flight Advance the general fund of knowledge on re-entry physics and dynamics and the plasma phenomena association with re-entry. Develop new data acquisition and processing techniques for expanded data quality.
USAS American Mariner
The DAMP ship, the USAS American Mariner, was essentially a floating measurements laboratory that employed various types of sensors, recording apparatus, and technical support equipment. It operated under conventional maritime regulations in the impact area of ballistic missile test firings, primarily in the Caribbean area and in the South Atlantic Ocean, near Ascension Island. During 1962, however, it operated in the Pacific Ocean in order to perform tracking duties during Operation Dominic atomic testing.
The shipboard crew, provided by Mathiasen Tankers Corp., was complemented by approximately sixty technical personnel provided by RCA and Barnes Engineering Corporation, who operated and maintained the radar and support equipment. Each mission required a minimum of 36 hours of on-station preparation and pre- and post-flight calibration. Targets were those of opportunity fired on missile ranges as part of the overall ballistic missile test program, which at the time was in its infancy.
The DAMP ship participated in numerous missile test operations on the Atlantic Missile Range, as well as on the Pacific Missile Range during 1962 in support of the Operation Dominic atomic tests with emphasis on radio frequency and radar electromagnetic effects. In addition, the DAMP ship served in support of the Ranger Program on the Atlantic Missile Range for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Activities included vehicle tracking during and subsequent to final burnout to supply designation data for the Deep Space Instrumentation Facility.
During its operation in the Atlantic Missile Range, the DAMP ship stopped at various ports for logistical support and requirements. Such ports included Recife, Brazil; Antigua, West Indies; Cape Town, and Monrovia and Senegal in Africa. While on the Pacific Missile Range, the DAMP ship was based out of Honolulu, Hawaii, and operated in the Johnston Island area.