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Last revised: 10 September 2009
POLARIS—POSEIDON---TRIDENT
AN AWESOME
CONCEPT
SEA-LAUNCHED BALLISTIC MISSILE SYSTEMS
GENERAL ELECTRIC---UNITED STATES
NAVY
============ A TUTORIAL ADVENTURE
IN HIGH TECHNOLOGY ==========
A
story about General Electric, Charles Wright and ICBM (missile) systems.
At Charleston SC, during the Cold War era, the most terrible
weapon that had ever been devised came into existence----General Electric
helped develop and build it. It was the submarine-based Inter-Continental
Ballistic Missile System----or just Polaris (named in honor of the North Star).
It was the single most-important national venture at the time---even above
Apollo----because the capability for hiding mobile nuclear missiles in the
vast oceans of the world would absolutely guarantee our nation’s
supremacy. As an engineer, I
consider myself fortunate to have taken part in this major state-of-the-art
military venture. Each original-design
missile was about 28 feet long (weight 30,000LB). See Page 4. Most
of it was made up of a solid-fuel rocket engine, about 4.5 feet in diameter. The
guidance system of each missile was about the size of the average
commode---the computer being the tank and the rest of the commode being the
gyro portion (call it the Analog portion). The Analog portion had
three gyros and 3 accelerometers mounted in a chunk of metal (about the
size of a half-gallon milk carton---with cutouts to hold these 6 cylindrical
devices). Each gyro and each accelerometer was about the size of a small can of
soup. The chunk of metal was
mounted via ball bearings inside of a square frame (about like a square,
deep picture frame). And that frame was mounted at right angles inside
another slightly bigger square frame via bearings---this bigger frame was
connected to the outside body of the guidance system by more ball
bearings. This arrangement allowed the inner chunk of metal to
rotate around in any angular position imaginable (but, in use, it actually remained “fixed”, angularly,
and the rest of the missile revolved about it). These frames were
called gimbals and the inner chunk of metal (holding the gyros and
accelerometers) was called an inertial platform. (it was called
“inertial”---which means “fixed” because it never moved angularly in space
after it was initially positioned, even though the entire missile might be
making various angular movements around it while traveling to a target). The
whole Analog portion (with gyros and accelerometers on the inertial platform,
and the gimbals) was about twice the size of a basket-ball. See
Appendix for a picture. Of course,
the guidance system (the whole “commode”) was bolted to the overall missile
frame. GE built these guidance systems at its Pittsfield, Mass. plant-----a
technical wonderland of electro-mechanical engineering. It was a vast operation-----and it had
an additional 400 engineers and technicians out in the field.
The way the missile system worked was as follows. When the rocket engine burns, it blows hot
gasses out of the back of the missile, pushing the rocket up through the
sky and space to its target. These gasses are forced to go out
through 4 short pipes (nozzles) called "jetavators." In flight, the
jetavators can be turned slightly---by the guidance system computer---in any direction
so that the back of the missile can be turned (guided, steered) toward the
target. In order for the guidance system to "keep its
balance" the gyros must keep the inertial platform (the inner chunk of
metal) from moving angularly as the missile is maneuvered through the sky
(something like the little sensors in your head help you keep your
balance). Before the missile is launched, the inertial platform is set to
a given angular position; then, as the missile maneuvers, after launch, the
gyros sense if the platform starts to tilt from its pre-set position,
and---by electric motors(operating in servomechanism loops)---
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force the gimbals to turn back, to keep the platform where
it was originally set, angularly (in inertial space---the residual space in
which the Earth exists). Transformer-like electronic devices (called
resolvers) that measure angles, are located at each of the gimbal bearings, to
tell the computer how much the missile has turned in every direction around the
fixed inner inertial platform. This allows the computer to
know exactly how the missile is pointed. As stated, the inner
platform also has 3 accelerometers mounted on it to keep the computer informed
(by sensing motion) as to just how far (and how fast) in every direction the
missile has traveled since it was launched.
So the computer "knows" exactly where the
missile is at all times, and how it is pointed. Since the computer was
"told" where the missile is intended to go, the computer can actuate
the jetavators to keep the missile on the course that was mathematically programmed
into the computer before launch. When the computer decides that the
missile is going at the correct speed and is pointed in the right direction so
that the warhead (like a rock being thrown) will hit the target, the computer
cuts the warhead loose and allows it to hurtle through the sky to hit the target. At that time, the rocket engine is
shut off and it and the guidance system fall to earth as expensive
junk.
When I started working in the Polaris program, I was
told that each guidance system cost a quarter of a million dollars.
They were so valuable and secret that an engineer (courier) slept alongside
each one (in a sleeping bag) on a cargo plane (I did it a few times) as the
guidance system was being shipped from Massachusetts to the Lockheed plant in
California------the guidance system had to be kept inside a sealed container
at an exact temperature (the engineer had to manually wire into the
plane's electrical system to get power for the container). I was assigned
as a courier a few times so that I could write detailed procedures for other couriers
who would do it regularly. Even that was a small adventure.
This
guidance system----conceived by MIT, with a digital computer and an inertial
section ---was so complicated that
very few people ever understood it. As a small example,
consider that the tiny gyro rotors in the gyros and accelerometers were (each)
turning at 16,000 RPM in a sphere (about the size of a golf ball) that was precisely
suspended in a magnetic field, so that precession bearing friction would be
eliminated. SEE
APPENDIX. I was lucky enough to be
the Guidance System Specialist at Charleston SC where about 40 GE engineers
had an office on the Polaris missile base---officially named Polaris Missile
Facility, Atlantic (POMFLANT). The massive office building also
housed the base commanding officer, about 125 employees from Lockheed (the
missile prime contractor) and about 10 from Aerojet-General (the rocket-engine
supplier), along with myriad Civil Service engineers and naval officers. There were about 900
people---contractors, Civil Service and Military---working at POMFLANT.
The
guidance systems had to be tested and calibrated at this base before they were put
into missiles and into the submarines at Charleston. Each
guidance system was not perfect---it had errors in its gyros and accelerometers
that could make the missile miss its long-range target. Therefore we had to determine exactly
what these errors were---e.g., like the speedometer on your car being in error
by a few miles per hour. We would
carefully measure gyro and accelerometer errors so that the submarine could
take them into account and offset them before the missile was launched.
As a vastly-oversimplified
example, if the guidance errors would cause the missile to hit 10 miles to the
left of the target, the submarine would apply factors to aim it 10 miles to the
right. Six-to-eight hours were
required to calibrate and test each guidance system----the intricacies involved
were staggering. GE also built all
the large test/calibration consoles and nearly all other support
equipment----including the main missile-control consoles for the
submarines.
There
were 16 missiles on each submarine. It was stated that each submarine was
more powerful than all the bombs dropped by everyone (both sides) during
World War II, including the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. It was an
awesome feeling to be there, working about a block from countless atomic
bombs (stored in the warheads).
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The
base was about 5 miles in diameter and it had a highly-secret inner base
about a mile in diameter. The inner high-security base is where the
missiles, warheads and guidance systems were kept and tested. There were
armed marine guards everywhere---it was a bit scary. The inner base was
surrounded by deep swamps (even swamp panthers prowled around the wild area---I
have seen them at night when I had been working late). My job was
to be an expert on the "brains" (the guidance system) of the missile
and to keep track of and report-on reliability problems and trends---and (using
all the metric data being recorded as guidance systems were processed) write
secret missile statistical-accuracy reports (CEP) for Admiral W. Raborn (later, Admiral L.
Smith and Admiral I. Galantin) who was at Washington---he was in
charge of the program nationwide for the Navy. The program was completely controlled by the Special
Projects office at WashDC. Key
people were identified by codes----I was SPC91 (Special Projects Charleston #91). All contractors and civilians on the
base were under the technical control and auspices of a Civil Service Chief
Engineer and his supporting staff----this provided continuity and it prevented
chaos.
The
other electronic equipment---associated with the missile system----at the
Charleston base and on the submarine, would take one person 2 lifetimes to
learn. I was closely involved with just one little part of it all---the
guidance system (but that was the most complicated and most interesting part of
the missile). The Guidance System Laboratory Building was 200 X 200
feet, 2 stories high, and was located on the inner security base.
In
a (separate) Missile Assembly Building, each entire missile was laid
horizontally in a berth and checked completely with a guidance system intact
before being released to the Navy.
GE, having a major role in the Polaris program, was involved in
developing extensive documentation for myriad formal instructions, along with
intricate quality control and trouble-shooting measures. EVERYTHING had to be documented
in great detail. Further, GE
maintained a large school facility at Pittsfield for Navy personnel and GE
engineers and technicians. Almost
everything was in a state of cutting-edge development-----sometimes I would
need to interface directly with the scientists at MIT to resolve guidance
system technical issues.
I
would often travel to Massachusetts, Connecticut, and California on business
associated with my job (being away sometimes for 3 months). In all, it
was a fantastic experience, actually breath-taking. I
felt at home as a civilian working on naval bases because I understood the Navy
way (I had spent many years in the active
air Navy and I was still a reserve naval officer, going for air-squadron duty
each month and 2 weeks of every year)---some people could not adapt and
work well with Navy personnel.
I
eventually became GE’s Engineering Supervisor at Charleston-----my group was
responsible for everything technical associated with GE’s role at the
missile facility, including reliability reporting and special investigations, aforementioned
statistical missile accuracy reports, training classes for our local engineers,
technical requirements for new buildings and a vast amount of test and
calibration equipment (and also for interfacing with other contractors who
built the rest of the missile hardware).
GE had two other groups of personnel at the base------one administrative
group to help the Navy with logistics; and a technical group to melt-in with
Civil Service and Navy people who were in long-term training to eventually take
over the test/calibration functions at the inner base.
While
I worked at Charleston, the overall A1 Polaris system underwent 2 complete
re-designs, A2 and A3 (with a smaller, lighter, improved guidance system) to
increase the range from 1200 NM to 2500 NM. It then began being supplemented by a bigger and better
missile system---called Poseidon (god of the deep). Its guidance system actually
tracked a distant star to help keep its inertial platform fixed more accurately
all during flight. Poseidon was much more awesome and more powerful
than Polaris. I worked in the Poseidon engineering program for a while, and
then moved to Daytona Beach to embark on another adventure----the Apollo
man-on-the moon project. A previous GE manager had transferred to
that program and invited me to work with him in Florida. I’ll tell you that Apollo story later.
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After I left Charleston, the
completely-awesome Trident Missile submarines became the next generation---they
are in use today. GE also played a
role in their deployment.
YEAR 1960 1962 1964 1971 1972 1982
LENGTH (FT) 28.5
31.0
32.3
34.0 34.0
44.6
DIAM (IN) 54
54
54
74
74
83
WEIGHT (LB) 30,000
32,500 35,700 85,000
> 85,000 > 120,000
RANGE
(NM) 1200
1500
2500
2800 > 4000 > 4000
TRIDENT C4 LAUNCH 
It is interesting to note
that the rocket engine of each of these submarine-launched missiles---Polaris,
Poseidon and Trident---is not ignited until it is above the sea surface. The missile is burped out of its
submarine launch tube by compressed gasses, flinging it out of the water. Even though this jerks the
missile around violently, the guidance system senses and records all velocity
movement and keeps its inertial platform fixed. Wow!
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POLARIS MISSILE BEING
LAUNCHED AT SEA
AS SOON AS WE FELT
REASONABLEY CONFIDENT, WE FIRED A TACTICAL POLARIS MISSILE FROM THE SUBMERGED
SSBN ETHAN ALLEN TO A LOCATION 1700 MILES AWAY IN THE PACIFIC-----IT CARRIED A
LIVE NUCLEAR WARHEAD THAT EXPLODED EXACTLY ON TARGET. THIS PROVED THAT THE ENTIRE SYSTEM WORKED WELL----AND
IT GAVE THE USA A GIANT ADVANTAGE IN THE COLD WAR WITH RUSSIA.
POLARIS WAS AN
ABSOLUTELY ASTONISHING ENGINEERING ACCOMPLISHMENT. ITS PROGRESS WAS
BASED ON JUST-IN-TIME TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENTS-----IT ALL CAME TOGETHER
MIRACULOUSLY AS IF A DEVINE HAND WERE GUIDING IT. THEN POLARIS SET THE STAGE FOR ADVANCEMENTS TO THE POSEIDON
AND TRIDENT MISSILE SYSTEMS. I WAS THERE NEAR THE BEGINNING PHASES OF POLARIS
DEVELOPMENT----IT WAS AN AWESOME FAST-MOVING ADVENTURE. IT HAD TOP PRIORITY IN
EXPENDITURES FOR DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES. SUCCESS OF THE POLARIS PROGRAM WAS DUE MAINLY TO
THE MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP OF ADMIRAL WILLIAM RABORN AND THE NATION’S GREATEST
UNIFORMED SCIENTIST, CAPTAIN (LATER ADMIRAL) LEVERING SMITH. WHEN THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL POLARIS WAS
LAUNCHED FROM THE SUBMERGED SSBN GEORGE WASHINGTON, RABORN SENT SMITH A PHOTOGRAPH
OF THE RISING A1 MISSILE, WITH RABORN’S PERSONAL GREETINGS WRITTEN ON THE
PICTURE----AFTER ADMIRAL SMITH DIED, THAT PICTURE WAS SENT TO ME BY THE MANAGER
OF SMITH’S ESTATE. I
TREASURE IT AS AN HISTORICAL AND SCIENTIFIC TOUCHPOINT.
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TRIDENT ACTUALLY HAS A RANGE
EXCEEDING 4,000 MILES
A BALLISTIC MISSILE SUBMARINE
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=
ANOTHER
VIEW OF A BALLISTIC MISSILE SUBMARINE
==============
POST SCRIPT==============
AFTER WE HAD JUST LOADED
THE FIRST POLARIS SUBMARINE WITH 16 MISSILES, MY COLLEAGUE SAID, “CHARLIE; I
KNOW THAT YOU REALIZE THE OMNIPITANT POWER OF THE WEAPON SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE
TURNED LOOSE IN THE WORLD.
HOW CAN WE JUSTIFY HAVING DONE SUCH A THING?” I COULD ONLY
ANSWER THAT I HAD GENUINE FAITH THAT MY GOVERNMENT WOULD NEVER USE THAT AWESOME
POWER EXCEPT AS A DETERRENT, OR AS A WEAPON OF LAST RESORT. BEING A NAVAL OFFICER----READY
RESERVE AT THE TIME---AND KNOWING THE MEN WHO MANNED THESE SUBMARINES,
I ALSO FELT THAT I COULD TRUST THEM COMPLETELY.
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TOPPING WAS A FAMOUS COMPANY THAT BUILT ALL KINDS
OF MODELS FOR THE GOVERNMENT AND FOR INDUSTRY.
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THE CIRCULAR EMBEDDED-BRASS WRITING ON THE BASE SAYS
POLARIS == THE FREE
WORLD’S PRIME DETERRENT WEAPON SYSTEM
SEE
APPENDIX
==================
END OF MAIN FILE ===================
BEGIN APPENDIX
NOTE THAT
EACH MARK-1 GUIDANCE SYSTEM IS RESTING ON TWO RAILS.
THERE ARE
ALSO RAILS IN THE MISSILE SO THAT THE GUIDANCE SYSTEM CAN
BE READILY
PULLED OUT AND REPAIRED----OR BE REPLACED BY ANOTHER ONE.
EVEN
IN STORAGE, THESE SYSTEMS WERE NEVER WITHOUT POWER. THE GYROS AND ACCELEROMETERS ON THE INNER GIMBAL CONTAINED A
VISCOUS (THICK) FLUID
CALLED
FLUROLUBE THAT HAD TO BE MAINTAINED AT AN EXACT TEMPERATURE.
THIN
WIRES, ABOUT LIKE A HUMAN HAIR, CARRIED POWER THROUGH THIS FLUID
TO
THE TINY GYRO MOTORS THAT WERE HOUSED INSIDE TINY SPHERES. THESE SPHERES (about the size of a golf ball) WERE MAGNETICALLY
SUSPENDED AND WERE SURROUNDED BY THIS FLUID TO PROVIDE A DAMPING FUNCTION IN
THE SERVO MECHANISM LOOPS OF THE GYROS AND ACCELEROMETERS.
WHAT HAPPENS IN A
SERVOMECHANISM LOOP IS SOMETHING LIKE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE
DRIVING A CAR. A SENSOR
(your eyes) DETECTS THAT THE CAR IS GETTING TOO FAR TO THE RIGHT; YOUR EYES SEND A SIGNAL TO YOUR BRAIN;
YOUR BRAIN TELLS YOUR HAND TO TURN THE CAR BACK TO THE LEFT, POSITIONING THE
CAR WHERE IT SHOULD BE ON THE ROAD.
LIKEWISE-----THE POLARIS
GYROS SENSE THAT THE “FIXED INNER GIMBAL” OF THE GUIDANCE SYSTEM HAS SLIGHTLY
MOVED; THE GYRO INSTANTLY SENDS A SIGNAL TO A MOTOR WHICH FORCES THE INNER
GIMBAL BACK WHERE IT WAS ORIGINALLY POSITIONED. THREE DIFFERENT GYROS DO THIS CONTINUALLY IN 3 DIRECTIONS TO
KEEP THE INNER GIMBAL ABSOLUTELY FIXED ANGULARLY. THEY DO THIS SMOOTHLY JUST LIKE YOU SMOOTHLY KEEP YOUR CAR
IN THE RIGHT LANE WITH MINUTE MOVEMENTS OF THE STEERING WHEEL. THE THICK FLUROLUBE FLUID HELPS THIS
GYRO ACTION TAKE PLACE SMOOTHLY.
THIS PICTURE SHOWS THE MAMMOUTH SIZE OF THE A3 POLARIS
MISSILE, AS
COMPARED
TO A
MAN. IMAGINE THE SIZE OF A
SUBMARINE
THAT
CARRIES SIXTEEN OF THESE MISSILES,
THEN
IMAGINE THE
SIZE OF THE
TRIDENT
SUBMARINE
THAT CARRIES SIXTEEN EXCEPTIONALLY-
LARGER
MISSILES.
THIS IS A
MODEL OF THE POLARIS INERTIAL PLATFORM. IT IS USED BY TEACHERS TO DESCRIBE INERTIAL GUIDANCE
SYSTEMS FOR MISSILES AND SPACECRAFT.
THE WHITE
CHUNK IN THE MIDDLE IS THE PLATFORM UPON WHICH IS MOUNTED THREE (RED)
ACCELEROMETERS AND THREE (WHITE) GYROS.
THE CHUNK CAN ROTATE HORIZONTALLY ON BEARINGS AT ITS TOP AND
BOTTOM. THE SILVER RINGS ARE CALLED GIMBALS AND THEY CAN MOVE IN ANY
DIRECTION ANGULARLY. THE
BLACK FRAME AND THE BASE REPRESENT THE MISSILE BODY. WNEN THE
WHITE CHUNK IS ALIGNED WITH A TARGET, IT NEVER MOVES AGAIN ANGULARLY---IT
REMAINS INERTIAL (FIXED ANGULARLY).
AS THE MISSILE BODY TWISTS AND TURNS TOWARD THE TARGET, THE WHITE CHUNK,
THE STABLE PLATFORM, REMAINS
FIXED---SO THAT THE ACCELEROMETERS AND GYROS STAY ON THEIR COORDINATE SYSTEMS
IN SPACE. RESOLVERS EXIST AT THE
GIMBAL BEARINGS TO CONTINUOUSLY MEASURE THE ANGLES OF THE GIMBALS RELATIVE TO
EACH OTHER AND TO THE MISSILE BODY.
THUS, THE GUIDANCE SYSTEM KNOWS THESE ANGLES, AND THUS KNOWS HOW THE
MISSILE BODY IS POINTED AT ALL TIMES.
THIS IS AN ACTUAL POLARIS GYRO, DISMANTLED. I REMOVED THE
GYRO WHEEL (upper center) THAT SPINS INSIDE THE TINY SPHERE.
THE WHEEL’S UPPER BEARING IS STILL ON THE WHEEL. THE SPHERE NOW LOOKS LIKE AN EMPTY
CUP. WHEN THE GYRO IS PUT
TOGETHER, THE “HANDLES” THAT STICK OUT ON THE SPHERE ARE SUSPENDED IN A
MAGNETIC FIELD THAT IS GENERATED BY THE ORANGE DONUT-SHAPED END CAPS. ANOTHER DONUT EXISTS ON THE OTHER END
OF THE CYLINDRICAL CASE. THE SPHERE IS SURROUNDED BY A MOLASSIS-TYPE FLUID THAT
KEEPS THE SPHERE FROM MOVING EXCEPT VERY SLOWLY. THE STICKY FLUID IS CALLED FLUOROLUBE. IT DAMPS MOTION IN THE GYRO’S
ELECTRONIC SERVOMECHANISM LOOP---A SYSTEM THAT KEEPS THE PLATFORM FIXED
ANGULARLY.
HERE IS AN ASSEMBLED
GYROSCOPE UNIT---IT
IS
THE SAME ONE THAT IS
SHOWN
DISMANTLED
ABOVE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, H. CHARLES WRIGHT
Mr. Wright was trained as an electronics specialist in the
U.S. Navy to function as a Flight Crewman in Air Anti-Submarine
Squadrons----operating from aircraft carriers and naval air stations to search
for and destroy Russian submarines.
After being released from the Navy,
he attended West Virginia University and graduated as an Electronic Engineer.
He immediately was hired by General Electric to specialize in inertial guidance
system technology. General
Electric Ordnance Systems (GEOS)---Pittsfield, Massachusetts---was the prime
contractor for the guidance system of the Polaris Missile.
(GE also
supplied the submarine fire-control consoles; land based GS calibration
consoles; myriad miscellaneous test equipment units; and all associated
documentation)
Mr. Wright was first assigned to
document instructions for those who would be couriers, accompanying secret
inertial guidance systems being transported from Pittsfield to the Lockheed
plant at Sunnyvale, California. At
Lockheed, the guidance systems were, for the first time, interfaced and tested
with Polaris missiles that were being built there. Mr. Wright was a courier himself until this
documentation was completed. In addition to secrecy, the guidance systems
were very fragile, requiring special handling, constant surveillance (during 2
days of travel), plus an interface with electrical power in freight
aircraft. The courier slept in the
plane alongside the large shipping container.
After that assignment, Wright was
sent to the Lockheed plant for three months, to study the guidance system’s construction
and its complex testing requirements. He then went to POMFLANT (Polaris Missile Facility—Atlantic),
Charleston SC, a vast missile base, which was still under construction. His first assignment was to document
the methods for testing and repair of the guidance system’s servo-mechanisms,
power supplies and computer.
Next he was involved in testing and calibration of the overall guidance
system, perfecting related documentation and establishing quality-control
methods. He was also assigned as training coordinator, to educate other
engineers and technicians in the complex details associated with GS testing and
calibration. Guidance systems were not perfect—they had errors that needed to be
quantified so that the Submarine
could compensate with offsets before launching a missile. Wright was also assigned to investigate any GS-related
problem trends that required prolonged study and corrective action. Since the GS interfaced with
other missile electronics, this often involved working with Lockheed engineers
to resolve problems. Mr. Wright
wrote overall reliability reports for all components of the General Electric
guidance system and the guidance systems produced by the Hughes Aerospace
Corporation (the secondary GS contractor). These reports had a wide distribution, including SPO, the
Special Projects Office at WashDC. Additionally, Wright was assigned to periodically
compile all combined GS error data and write Secret statistical reports that
detailed the accuracy of the missile guidance system-----Circular Error
Probability (CEP). CEP showed the
SPO Director what percent of missiles launched would hit targets within a given
radius.
Wright was eventually promoted to
supervise other engineers who were charged with the functions that he had
previously performed. In
this capacity, he was also responsible for GE’s interface with POMFLANT’s Chief
Engineer staff-----and with other contractors; and for guidance-related
facilities-planning associated with Polaris and Poseidon missile systems.
Mr. Wright represented GE by making tutorial presentations
on inertial guidance systems to professional organizations---example: American
Institute of Electrical/Electronic Engineers. Mr. Wright studied servomechanism theory and design at the
local Citadel College. He also
interfaced directly with MIT on GS computer problems and new-accelerometer
design. When Raytheon became a
contractor for GS production, he went there to study their hardware designs. Wright was a single point of
contact at POMFLANT for missile guidance system subjects.
Wright later carried his
Rocket Scientist knowledge into the Apollo space program, where General
Electric played a major role in supporting NASA. He was a consultant to NASA HQ personnel for problems
associated with Apollo Guidance and Navigation Systems and Lunar Module
pyrotechnics
----also conducting studies
on gyro and accelerometer error trends.
[Wright’s missile and spacecraft work spanned a decade of
time]
////////////////////////////////// END OF APPENDIX /////////////////////////////////////