1951 - First radio signals reflected
off the moon (world's largest parabolic antenna used as a first
step toward satellite communications)
1954 - First voice transmission
made over the moon radio circuit
1956 - First radio communications
using the moon as a passive relay station
1955 - Project Vanguard, the
first solar-powered satellite, established at NRL
1958 - First satellite-surveillance
system (Minitrack) placed in operation
1958 - First determination of
the density of the upper atmosphere by Minitrack observations
of U.S. and Soviet satellites
1958 - Thermal-equilibrium problems
of space satellites solved
1958 - Placed Vanguard I in Earth
orbit
1959 - World's first satellite-communication system put into
operation
1959 - Development of
automatic-data-reduction
equipment for satellites
1960 - Launch of the first
orbiting-solar-observatory
satellite, Solar Radiation I
1960 - First payload of multiple
satellites placed in orbit by single launch vehicle
1962 - First successful communications
relay from shore to ship by using the Moon's surface as a passive
relay
1963 - First completely automatic
computation system developed for satellite-surveillance
systems
1964 - Development of the first
practical hydrogen-maser radio-frequency standard
1965 - Moon radar system placed
in operation
1967 - NRL Timation I satellite
placed in orbit (forerunner of the GPS navigation system)
1970 - First time transfer via
satellite
1974 - Activation of the world's
first orbiting rubidium-vapor atomic oscillator (TIMATION III
Satellite)
1982 - Portable satellite communications
antenna developed
1983 - NRL plays major role in
the upgrade of the NAVSPASUR System (originally based on the
NRL Minitrack System)
1983 - First successful launch
of the the LiPS research satellites, which were developed from
launch vehicle protective shields usually jettisoned in space
1984 - NRL gyrodynamic motion
simulator developed to aid in spacecraft design
1986 - Development of first star
tracker to be radiation hardened to greater than 100 kilorads
1990 - Launch and operation of
the SDIO-sponsored (LACE) satellite in support of two Ballistic
Missile Defense Organization (then SDIO) experiments
1994 - Launch of the NRL-developed
Deep Space Program Science Experiment (DSPSE), also known as
Clementine 1, on January 25 as the first unmanned lunar
mission in 25 years
1995 - Development of a mission
planning and analysis tool for Earth-orbiting satellites called
OATS
1995 - Demonstration of a key
design advance in clock technology for use in future GPS satellites,
providing reduced or eliminated error sources and control
instability.
1996 - Deployment of the Tether
Physics and Survivability (TiPS) experiment satellite to research
the gravity-gradient dynamics and survivability of a tethered
system in space
1997 - Revamping of the NRL-developed
Titan Launch Dispenser to the Interim Control Module for NASA's
International Space Station
1998 - NRL's Naval Center
for Space Technology named to U.S. Space Foundation's Space Technology
Hall of Fame
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