Navigational Satellite, Transit 5-A
name: label: Manufacturer
content: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
notes: label: Summary
content: Beginning in the 1960s, the United States Navy began developing a communications and navigation satellite program to meet the needs of ships at sea and submarines. One result of this program was the Transit satellite series, designed and built to Navy specifications by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland.
label: Summary
content: Submarines received radio signals from a Transit satellite, whose orbit was known to great accuracy, as it passed overhead. The change in frequency of the signal due to the Doppler effect told the submarine that the satellite was directly overhead. The submarine commander could establish a position without having to surface and take reading on stars--the traditional method of navigation, but a risky one for a submarine.
label: Summary
content: The Transit V-A satellite is an operational backup to the Transit series and was donated to NASM by the JHU Applied Physics Lab in late 1984.
place: label: Country of Origin
content: United States of America
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Air and Space Museum Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Air and Space Museum
identifier: label: Inventory Number
content: A19850001000
objectType: label: Type
content: SPACECRAFT-Uncrewed-Test Vehicles
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Materials
content: Aluminum, Paint, Magnesium, Copper, Steel, Adhesive, Gold Plating, Phenolic Resin, Nylon, Plastic, Cadmium Plating, Composite, Synthetic Fabric
label: Dimensions
content: 3-D: 61 x 45.7cm, 34kg (24 x 18 in., 75lb.)
label: Dimensions
content: 3-D (Solar Paddle): 182.9 x 45.7 x 2.5cm (72 x 18 x 1 in.)