The Naval Research Laboratory
(NRL) has a long and diverse history in space. NRL has pioneered
the space frontier since the 1940s - from cosmic ray experiments
carried aloft on captured V2 rockets (the genesis of the Navy's
space program) to the 1990s Clementine success story that gave
the world unparalleled images of the moon.
NRL's earliest achievements in
satellite technology, such as the success of Vanguard I, launched
in March, 1958, and Vanguard II, placed in orbit in 1959, left
a formidable legacy. Vanguard II, which was the first satellite
designed to observe and record the cloud cover of Earth, was
the forerunner of future meteorological satellites. In 1959,
all assets of the Vanguard Project, including more than 200 NRL
scientists and engineers were transferred to the newly created
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This group
of NRL researchers helped start NASA on its highly successful
missions.
Space research has continued
to flourish at NRL in the years since through the development
and use of satellites, expendable launch vehicles and sounding
rockets, and hundreds of sensor experiments. From NRL-developed
experiments on rockets, balloons and shuttle payloads, the Laboratory
has recorded many milestone observations and discoveries.
Through the years, NRL has achieved
many noted space "firsts," especially in the areas
of ultraviolet and x-ray imaging. These first include the first
far-ultraviolet spectrum of the Sun, the first X-ray photograph
of the Sun, the development of the first manned observatory on
the moon (a camera deployed on the moon by Apollo 16 astronauts),
and the detection of radioactive cobalt in supernova 1987a, which
provided the first direct experimental evidence that supernovae
are the principal sources of heavy elements such as iron.
The roots of some of today's
most outstanding technology can be traced back to NRL. Such developments
include Minitrack, a satellite tracking system for Vanguard I
that was the forerunner of another NRL system called NAVSPASUR,
which is operational today and a major producer of spacecraft
tracking data, and the TIMe and navigATION (Timation) project,
which was conceived by NRL engineer Roger Easton and has been
recognized with honors as the foundation of the Global Positioning
System.
Recent projects like NRL's Clementine
mission tested new materials and sensors in space while putting
into practice the notion of "faster, cheaper, better"
and forging a new paradigm throughout the space technology community.
Other projects like NRL's current work on the Interim Control
Module for NASA's International Space Station continue to demonstrate
NRL's capability for quick response to tight schedules and will
help keep this major international program on track.
And, NRL is applying its intellectual
and technological resources to critical environmental issues
through satellite-based sensors that measure global atmospheric
change, monitor ozone depletion, and further study the effects
of solar physics on our Earth. Experiments now under development
will continue to search for answers to questions about the physical
processes that have impact on naval systems and affect the world
we live in.
Currently, NRL has three hubs of space research activity that
work both independently and collaboratively:
·The Space Science Division,
which conducts ongoing research in solar physics, upper atmospheric
physics, gamma and cosmic ray astronomy, and solar terrestrial
relationships;
·The Naval Center for
Space Technology, a world-class satellite and space technology
development center with experience on 83 satellites and 34 launches;
and
·The Remote Sensing Division,
which develops environmental sensors, data and signal processing
technologies, conducts fundamental investigations in ocean, atmospheric
and astrophysical sciences, and models and simulates environmental
processes.
These groups are made up of scientists, engineers and technology
leaders whose enabling technologies, conceptual development,
operational systems, and data collection experiments will define
NRL's place in space history for many years to come.
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory is the Navy's full-spectrum corporate laboratory, conducting a broadly based multidisciplinary program of scientific research and advanced technological development. The Laboratory, with a total complement of nearly 2,500 personnel, is located in southwest Washington, D.C., with other major sites at the Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Monterey, Calif. NRL has served the Navy and the nation for over 85 years and continues to meet the complex technological challenges of today's world. For more information, visit the NRL homepage or join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
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