Equipment used in this data processing cycle included a digital tape translator, an IBM 709 computer, an analog computer, various tape and card converters and card punches, analog and digital playback equipment, data plotters, chart and film readers, oscilloscope cameras and oscilloscopes, a photo darkroom, and miscellaneous support equipment. The processed data would be disseminated directly or would be submitted to the Data Interpretation Group for study, interpretation, correlation, and comparison with theory. The data interpretation group was concerned with annotating basic data with interpretative comments to aid the ultimate data user. Objectives were to investigate every avenue for enhanced data output and maximum data accuracy and usefulness. Theoretical studies and experiments were made to augment the data comparisons and evaluations; such studies embraced the computational areas of numerical, mathematical, and statistical analysis, analog and digital simulation, and computer programming as well as the many physical sciences associated with missile flight and atmospheric re-entry. One of the most important facets of re-entry physics is the interaction of plasmas and ionized wakes with electromagnetic waves. Work was being conducted in both the theoretical and practical nature of plasma physics as related to radar and associated phenomena; the following subcontract organization and consultants were active in support of phases of this research:   To evaluate the effects of plasma and wake on EM propagation, flow field studies were performed to generate plasma density contours. These theoretical results were used for comparison with measured data for analysis. Laboratory experiments and simulation studies were conducted to investigate complex phenomena such as turbulence in the plasma flow field. The DAMP ship, the USAS ("United States Army Ship") American Mariner was the primary data collection facility of the DAMP Project. Pertinent ship's characteristics include:   The DAMP ship was instrumented with various systems designed to locate and track incoming ballistic missiles in the predicted impact area, as well as instrumentation to record raw data. One of the two AN/FPQ-4 radars aboard the DAMP ship permitted the tracking of beacon-carrying targets to an unambiguous range of . The L-band and UHF radars, which shared a common antenna, permitted observation of the target by illumination to supplement the C-band. The AN/FPS-12 radar permitted surveillance of the general vicinity of the DAMP ship as well as vectoring of aircraft which may be assigned to the ship. The telemetry acquisition system was a passive acquisition aid operated on the interfereometer principle which gives angular position of the target relative to the ship.