SATELLITE-TRACKING PROGRAM — HAYES 279 



At a special meeting of the LPR conimittee iii Washington three 

 possible approaches to placing a small payload in orbit aromid the 

 earth were outlined. The committee defined some of the technical 

 and scientific aspects of orbiting a 10-pomid object; they suggested 

 that it should be approximately 20 inches in diameter and be painted 

 white or have an otherwise highly reflecting surface. Such an object 

 could be observed visually from the ground at twilight, when it would 

 be the equivalent of a star of the sixth magnitude. Dr. Whipple 

 stated firmly that it could be found optically with binoculars or with 

 Askania-type cameras, and he discussed the techniques for acquiring 

 the object once it was in orbit. The committee concluded that a 

 satellite for payloads of up to 10 pounds could be realized within 2 

 or 3 years, provided sufficient funds and manpower were available. 

 On March 10, 1955, the U.S. National Committee adopted a resolution 

 favoring the launching of instrumented satellites. 



Several months later Kaplan wrote to Dr. Alan T. Waterman, 

 Director of the National Science Foundation, summarizing the views 

 and proposals of the U.S. National Committee concerning the LPR 

 project. The executive committee had already acted favorably upon 

 a budget of approximately 10 million dollars for the launching of 

 IGY satellites. The budget included provisions for 10 "birds" and 5 

 observation stations, including the necessary scientific instrumentation, 

 related equipment, and a minimum civilian scientific staff. The report 

 described the provisions for the five ground stations, one each in 

 equatorial Pacific, South America, the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, and 

 the Philippines, and defined some of the simplest and most direct 

 experiments that could be performed through the instrumented satel- 

 lite: precise geodetic measurements; the determination of upper-air 

 densities; measurement of solar radiation; measurement of particle 

 radiation ; determination of current flows in the ionosphere associated 

 with magnetic storms and radio blackouts ; and the determination of 

 hydrogen in interplanetary space. 



The major question next to be resolved was whether Project Orbiter 

 or some alternative was to be the official IGY satellite program of the 

 United States. Project Orbiter had been proposed to Donald A. 

 Quarles, the Assistant Secretary of Defense ; however, the Naval Re- 

 search Laboratory, under the Office of Naval Research, had been 

 developing its own program. Both proposals were presented for 

 decision to a special committee appointed by President Eisenhower. 



On July 29, 1955, President Eisenliower announced to the world that 

 the U.S. would launch a small instrumented earth-circling satellite 

 as part of its IGY effort, and several weeks later the Secretary of 

 Defense, Charles E. Wilson, added that the Department of Defense 

 would participate in this phase of the IGY program. In his press 



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