This collection contains Viking 75 Project documents generated by Langley Research Center, Martin Marietta Corporation, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, with a very small number produced by the Kennedy Space Center. The documents have been organized into the following series: 1) Project Management Reports; 2) Near Term Schedule and Significant Events Variance Reports; 3) Working Schedules and Reports; 4) Project Plans and Project Review Plans; 5) Quarterly Reviews; 6) Reports on Working Status of Viking 75 Project Documentation; 7) Data Management Plan; and 8) Other Management Program Planning Reports and Requirements Documents. The Project Management Reports are monthly reports that show Viking Project Master Schedule timelines, current financial status, manpower, analysis and design schedule timelines, lander and orbiter development schedules, launch vehicle capability/readiness schedules, and spacecraft weight trends broken down by major components. The Near Term Schedules and Reports, which were prepared on an as-needed basis during 1971-72, are handwritten summaries of variances that have occurred in the design, development, and assembly of the Viking spacecraft, landers, and orbiters. They also indicate how the variance was resolved. If the variances caused slippages in the timeline, these reports show an elementary comparison of the proposed schedule, the latest estimated schedule and the actual schedule for the particular process involved. Documents in the Working Schedules and Reports series describe the periodic status of the various Master Schedule Milestones as they relate to launch readiness, Lander and Orbiter system design, landing site selection, mission analysis, spacecraft assembly, and flight operations tests. The Project Plans series documents show the mission organizational outlines at each facility involved, along with the areas of management responsibilities and required activities while the Project Review Plans describe the types of reviews necessary, scheduling of the reviews and management responsible for them. The Quarterly Reviews provide information on all aspects of project status. The Reports on the Working Status of Viking 75 Project Documentation are computer-generated reports that were issued every two-to-three weeks during 1971-1972. These reports list Viking Project technical documentation by document number and title, along with the names of the individuals responsible for drafting them, as well as the current and estimated timeline for review and approval. The Data Management Plans set forth the requirements for gathering project data and the procedures for submitting the data to the Viking Project Office. The eighth, and final series, is reserved for management planning and requirements documents that do not fit into the previous seven series. Most of the documents contain at least one identifying number, usually a Viking Orbiter Data Index number. These are usually written in pencil in the lower right-hand or left-hand corners of the first page of each document. The Archives has a nine-volume printout of Viking documents listed by Data Index number. The listing of index numbers, although in ascending sequential order, is discontinuous. Number series are repeated several times throughout the index.
