Surveyor spacecraft automatic landing system

The Surveyor Project accomplished five successful lunar landings between 1966 and 1968, following an intensive five-year development effort. One of the many significant accomplishments made by Surveyor was the development and validation of the first-ever automated soft-landing system. This paper provides a historical overview of Surveyor, with emphasis on the guidance and control aspects of the spacecraft's terminal descent system. Driving requirements and other important design considerations are described, along with the configuration and operational sequence of the actual flight system.