This is the primary remaining development challenge of the TRANSIT 
program. Fortunately, the TRANSIT system itself provides one of 
the most powerful tools available for accomplishing these goals. 
Furthermore, considerable effort using both TRANSIT and other tech- 
niques is planned, or already under way, not only in the TRANSIT 
program, but by many other programs in the Army, Navy, Air Force 
and NASA. It is clear that the next year or two will see tremendous 
advances in these basic problems of geodesy. 
a: Other Problems 
While the discussion above covers the major technical 
aspects of the TRANSIT program, there have been, of course, a host 
of detailed technical or practical operational problems that 
required solution. Some of these solutions are sufficiently novel 
to merit comment. The problem of de-spinning satellites, alluded 
to above, is one such example. TRANSIT 1-B used the so-called yo- 
yo, devised independently by APL and JPL. Subsequently, it was 
found the same objective could be accomplished even more simply, 
without moving parts, by using magnetic damping in the earth's 
magnetic field. A combination of two phenomena, hysteresis loss 
and induced current loss, provides very effective desoas!” 
A practical problem that has been solved quite effec- 
tively is that of making full use of the launch capabilities of 
the launch vehicles when these exceed the requirements of a specific 
payload. The solution adopted is to fire a multiplicity of payloads 
in a pick-a-back configuration (see Figs. 10 and 11). This technique 
has worked quite well. It is true there has been one failure to 
separate (TRANSIT 3-B) but this was caused by a Simple programmer 
malfunction during the launch phase and not by any difficulties 
inherent in the multi-payload technique. 
6/n.E. Fischell, "Magnetic Damping of the Angular Motions of Earth 
Satellites" American Rocket Society, 15th Annual Mtg., Dec. 1960. 
114 
