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TOPIC: APL space program

Blobrana

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Posts: 131433

Date: Mar 1 14:09 2010

APL space program	Permalink

On Sept. 17, 1959, a little heralded Thor Able rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Perched atop the rocket was Transit 1A, a satellite designed by scientists and engineers at Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Laboratory that the U.S. Navy hoped would provide accurate location information to ballistic missile submarines and be used as a general navigation system. Twenty-five minutes into the flight, Transit 1A plummeted into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland. The rocket booster's third stage had failed to fire. A colossal disappointment? Not quite. The satellite, even on its brief journey, had gathered enough data to prove to APL and its Navy sponsors that the project was worthwhile. With the launch, the APL space program was effectively born. Read more __________________

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