TRANSIT satellite navigation system
APR 13, 2015
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.030941
On this day in 1960 the US launched the first satellite in its TRANSIT naval navigation system. The satellites flew in five different low polar orbits while broadcasting at 150 and 400 MHz. From the set of Doppler shifts and the satellites’ locations, a ship or submarine could derive its position with a precision of 200 meters. TRANSIT was the US Navy’s principal satellite navigation system from 1964, when it became operational, until 1996, when GPS superseded it.
Date in History: 13 April 1960
© 2015 American Institute of Physics
