1.
Earth science
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Earth science or geoscience is a widely embraced term for the fields of science related to the planet Earth. Earth science can be considered to be a branch of planetary science, there are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences. The Earth sciences can include the study of geology, the lithosphere, and the structure of the Earths interior, as well as the atmosphere, hydrosphere. Typically, Earth scientists use tools from geography, chronology, physics, chemistry, biology, Geology describes the rocky parts of the Earths crust and its historic development. Major subdisciplines are mineralogy and petrology, geochemistry, geomorphology, paleontology, stratigraphy, structural geology, engineering geology, geophysics and geodesy investigate the shape of the Earth, its reaction to forces and its magnetic and gravity fields. Geophysicists explore the Earths core and mantle as well as the tectonic and seismic activity of the lithosphere, geophysics is commonly used to supplement the work of geologists in developing a comprehensive understanding of crustal geology, particularly in mineral and petroleum exploration. Soil science covers the outermost layer of the Earths crust that is subject to soil formation processes, major subdisciplines include edaphology and pedology. Ecology covers the interactions between the biota, with their natural environment and this field of study differentiates the study of the Earth, from the study of other planets in the Solar System, the Earth being the only planet teeming with life. Hydrology is a study revolved around the movement, distribution, and quality of the water and involves all the components of the cycle on the earth. Sub-disciplines of hydrology include hydrometeorology, surface hydrology, hydrogeology, watershed science, forest hydrology. Glaciology covers the icy parts of the Earth, atmospheric sciences cover the gaseous parts of the Earth between the surface and the exosphere. Major subdisciplines include meteorology, climatology, atmospheric chemistry, and atmospheric physics, plate tectonics, mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes are geological phenomena that can be explained in terms of physical and chemical processes in the Earths crust. Beneath the Earths crust lies the mantle which is heated by the decay of heavy elements. The mantle is not quite solid and consists of magma which is in a state of semi-perpetual convection and this convection process causes the lithospheric plates to move, albeit slowly. The resulting process is known as plate tectonics, plate tectonics might be thought of as the process by which the Earth is resurfaced. As the result of spreading, new crust and lithosphere is created by the flow of magma from the mantle to the near surface, through fissures. Through subduction, oceanic crust and lithosphere returns to the convecting mantle, volcanoes result primarily from the melting of subducted crust material. Crust material that is forced into the asthenosphere melts, and some portion of the material becomes light enough to rise to the surface—giving birth to volcanoes
2.
United States Navy
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The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
3.
United States Naval Research Laboratory
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A few of the laboratorys current specialties include plasma physics, space physics, materials science, and tactical electronic warfare. NRL is one of the first US Government scientific R&D laboratories, having opened in 1923 at the instigation of Thomas Edison, NRLs research expenditures are approximately $1.1 billion per year. The Naval Research Laboratory conducts a variety of basic and scientific research. It has a history of scientific breakthroughs and technological achievements dating back to its foundation in 1923. In many instances the contributions to military technology are declassified decades after those technologies have become widely adopted. In 2011, NRL researchers published 1,398 unclassified scientific & technical articles, book chapters, in 2008, the NRL was ranked #3 among all U. S. institutions holding nanotechnology-related patents, behind IBM and the University of California. The laboratory houses a range of R&D facilities. The most recent additions include the NRL Nanoscience Institutes 5000sqft Class 100 nanofabrication cleanroom and quiet measurement labs, the Naval Research Laboratory has been a crucial piece of the United States space program. Project Vanguard, the first American satellite program, tasked NRL with the design, construction and launch of an artificial satellite, Vanguard I, designed and built at NRL, was the first solar-powered satellite. As of 2013, Vanguard I is still in orbit, making it the longest-lived man-made satellite, Vanguard II was the first satellite to observe the Earths cloud cover and therefore the first meteorological satellite. NRL pioneered the study of the sun Ultraviolet and X-Ray spectrum, along with Project Vanguard, NRL also designed the first satellite tracking system, Minitrack, which became the prototype for future satellite tracking networks. NRLs recently declassified Galactic Radiation and Background I was the first U. S. intelligence satellite, NRLs spacecraft development program continues today with the TacSat-4 experimental tactical reconnaissance & communication satellite. In addition to design, NRL also designs and operates research instruments, such as the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment aboard the Solar. NASAs Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope was tested at NRL spacecraft testing facilities, NRL scientists have most recently contributed leading research to the study of novas and gamma ray bursts. Modern mechanical fracture mechanics were pioneered at NRL and were applied to solve fracture problems in Navy vessels, commercial aircraft. That knowledge is in use today in applications ranging from design of nuclear reactors to aircraft, submarines. NRLs GaAs inventions were licensed by Rockwell, Westinghouse, Texas Instruments, high-purity GaAs is also used for high-efficiency solar cells like those aboard NASAs Spirit and Opportunity rovers currently on Mars. Fundamental aspects of technology were developed at NRL, including the radar absorption mechanisms in ferrite-containing materials
4.
Vanguard (rocket)
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The Vanguard rocket was intended to be the first launch vehicle the United States would use to place a satellite into orbit. Vanguard rockets were used by Project Vanguard from 1957 to 1959, of the eleven Vanguard rockets which the project attempted to launch, three successfully placed satellites into orbit. Vanguard rockets were an important part of the race between the United States and the Soviet Union. In 1955, the United States announced plans to put a satellite in orbit for the International Geophysical Year in 1957–1958. The goal was to track the satellite as it performed experiments, the Rand Corporation, Air Force and CIA had long pursued the idea of a Reconnaissance Satellite. Such a program was under way, Weapon System 117L, which was top secret compartmented, one problem with a reconnaissance was a matter of legality, was there freedom of space or did a nations airspace end when space is entered. The National Security Council backed the IGY satellite as it would make good cover for WS117L, at the same time the NSC stressed that the IGY satellite must not interfere with military programs. The Armys Redstone-based proposal would likely be first ready for a first satellite launch and its connection with German-born scientist Wernher von Braun, however, was a public-relations risk. In any case, the Atlas and Redstone ballistic missiles were top-priority military projects, milton Rosens Vanguard was a project at the Naval Research Laboratory, which was regarded more as a scientific than a military organization. Rosen and Richard Porter both lobbied for the Vanguard and against using the Atlas or von Brauns rockets and they emphasized the non-military goals of the satellite program. In August or September 1955, the DOD Committee on Special Capabilities chose the NRL proposal, named Vanguard, the Martin company, which had also built the Viking, became prime contractor for the launch vehicle. The Vanguard rocket was designed as a three-stage vehicle, the first stage was a General Electric X-405 liquid-fueled engine, derived from the engine of the RTV-N-12a Viking. The second stage was the Aerojet General AJ10-37 liquid-fueled engine, a variant of the engine in the RTV-N-10 Aerobee, finally, the third stage was a solid-propellant rocket motor. All three-stage Vanguard flights except the last one used a motor built by the Grand Central Rocket Company, Vanguard had no fins, and the first and second stages were steered by gimbaled engines. The second stage also housed the telemetry system, the inertial guidance system. The third stage was spin-stabilized, the spin being imparted by a turntable on the stage before separation. The Vanguards second stage served for decades as the Able and Delta second stage for satellite launch vehicles, the AJ10 engine which made up those stages was adapted into the AJ10-137, which was used as the Apollo Service Module engine. The AJ10-190, adapted from the Apollo spacecraft was used on the Space Shuttle for orbital maneuvers, the first two flights of the Vanguard program, designated Test Vehicle -0 and TV-1, were actually the last two remaining RTV-N-12a Viking rockets modified
5.
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
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Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Commands 45th Space Wing, headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida, CCAFS is the primary head of Americas Eastern Range with three launch pads currently active. The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip provides a 10, 000-foot runway close to the launch complexes for military airlift aircraft delivering heavy, a number of American space exploration firsts were launched from CCAFS, including the first U. S. Earth satellite, first U. S. astronaut, first U. S. astronaut in orbit, first two-man U. S. spacecraft, first U. S. unmanned lunar landing, and first three-man U. S. spacecraft. The CCAFS area had used by the United States government to test missiles since 1949. On June 1,1948, the U. S. Navy transferred the former Banana River Naval Air Station to the U. S. Air Force, with USAF renaming the facility the Joint Long Range Proving Ground Base on June 10,1949. On October 1,1949, the Joint Long Range Proving Ground Base was transferred from the Air Materiel Command to the Air Force Division of the Joint Long Range Proving Ground. On May 17,1950, the base was renamed the Long Range Proving Ground Base, in 1951, the Air Force established the Air Force Missile Test Center. Early American sub-orbital rocket flights were achieved at Cape Canaveral in 1956 and these flights occurred shortly after sub-orbital flights launched from White Sands Missile Range, such as the Viking 12 sounding rocket on February 4,1955. Following the Soviet Unions successful Sputnik 1, the US attempted its first launch of a satellite from Cape Canaveral on December 6,1957. However, the rocket carrying Vanguard TV3 blew up on the launch pad, NASA was founded in 1958, and Air Force crews launched missiles for NASA from the Cape, known then as Cape Canaveral Missile Annex. The row of Titan and Atlas launch pads along the coast came to be known as Missile Row in the 1960s, nASAs first manned spaceflight program was prepared for launch from Canaveral by U. S. Air Force crews. Mercurys objectives were to place a spacecraft in Earth orbit, investigate human performance and ability to function in space. Suborbital flights were launched by derivatives of the Armys Redstone missile from LC-5, Orbital flights were launched by derivatives of the Air Forces larger Atlas D missile from LC-14. The first American in orbit was John Glenn on February 20,1962, three more orbital flights followed through May 1963. Flight control for all Mercury missions was provided at the Mercury Control Center located at Canaveral near LC-14 and he had also convinced Gov. C. Farris Bryant to change the name of Cape Canaveral to Cape Kennedy and this resulted in some confusion in public perception, which conflated the two. This name was used through the Gemini and early Apollo programs, however, the geographical name change proved to be unpopular, owing to the historical longevity of Cape Canaveral
6.
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 18
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Launch Complex 18 is a launch complex at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida that was active during the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was used by Viking, Vanguard, Thor and Scout rockets, the first launch from LC-18 was a Viking rocket from LC-18A on 8 December 1956, on a test flight for Project Vanguard. A further Viking launch was conducted in May 1957, and the Vanguard made its flight from the complex in September. Following this, the United States first satellite launch attempt was made from LC-18A, using Vanguard TV3, the launch failed after the rocket lost thrust and exploded on the launch pad. All twelve Vanguard launches were conducted from LC-18A, with the complex being transferred to NASA after it took responsibility for Vanguard following its formation in 1958. After the Vanguards retirement in 1959, LC-18A was transferred to the US Air Force for use by Scout rockets, LC-18B was used for 17 tests of Thor missiles between 4 June 1958 and 29 February 1960. Following this, it was converted for use by Scout rockets. Sixteen Scouts were launched from LC-18, ten from LC-18A and six from LC-18B, fifteen of the launches were suborbital sounding flights, and one was an orbital launch with the Mercury-Scout 1 satellite for NASA. This failed to orbit and was destroyed by range safety 43 seconds after launch. The launches from LC-18A used the Blue Scout Junior configuration, and were conducted between 21 September 1960 and 9 June 1965. The launches from LC-18B consisted of three Blue Scout I rockets and three Blue Scout IIs, launched between 7 January 1961 and 12 April 1967 Wade, Mark, archived from the original on July 6,2008
7.
Geocentric orbit
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A geocentric orbit or Earth orbit involves any object orbiting the Earth, such as the Moon or artificial satellites. In 1997 NASA estimated there were approximately 2,465 artificial satellite orbiting the Earth and 6,216 pieces of space debris as tracked by the Goddard Space Flight Center. Over 16,291 previously launched objects have decayed into the Earths atmosphere, altitude as used here, the height of an object above the average surface of the Earths oceans. Analemma a term in astronomy used to describe the plot of the positions of the Sun on the celestial sphere throughout one year, apogee is the farthest point that a satellite or celestial body can go from Earth, at which the orbital velocity will be at its minimum. Eccentricity a measure of how much an orbit deviates from a perfect circle, eccentricity is strictly defined for all circular and elliptical orbits, and parabolic and hyperbolic trajectories. Equatorial plane as used here, an imaginary plane extending from the equator on the Earth to the celestial sphere, escape velocity as used here, the minimum velocity an object without propulsion needs to have to move away indefinitely from the Earth. An object at this velocity will enter a parabolic trajectory, above this velocity it will enter a hyperbolic trajectory, impulse the integral of a force over the time during which it acts. Inclination the angle between a plane and another plane or axis. In the sense discussed here the reference plane is the Earths equatorial plane, orbital characteristics the six parameters of the Keplerian elements needed to specify that orbit uniquely. Orbital period as defined here, time it takes a satellite to make one orbit around the Earth. Perigee is the nearest approach point of a satellite or celestial body from Earth, sidereal day the time it takes for a celestial object to rotate 360°. For the Earth this is,23 hours,56 minutes,4.091 seconds, solar time as used here, the local time as measured by a sundial. Velocity an objects speed in a particular direction, since velocity is defined as a vector, both speed and direction are required to define it. The following is a list of different geocentric orbit classifications, Low Earth orbit - Geocentric orbits ranging in altitude from 160 kilometers to 2,000 kilometres above mean sea level. At 160 km, one revolution takes approximately 90 minutes, medium Earth orbit - Geocentric orbits with altitudes at apogee ranging between 2,000 kilometres and that of the geosynchronous orbit at 35,786 kilometres. Geosynchronous orbit - Geocentric circular orbit with an altitude of 35,786 kilometres, the period of the orbit equals one sidereal day, coinciding with the rotation period of the Earth. The speed is approximately 3,000 metres per second, high Earth orbit - Geocentric orbits with altitudes at apogee higher than that of the geosynchronous orbit. A special case of high Earth orbit is the elliptical orbit
8.
Medium Earth orbit
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Medium Earth orbit, sometimes called intermediate circular orbit, is the region of space around the Earth above low Earth orbit and below geostationary orbit. The most common use for satellites in this region is for navigation, communication, the most common altitude is approximately 20,200 kilometres ), which yields an orbital period of 12 hours, as used, for example, by the Global Positioning System. Other satellites in medium Earth orbit include Glonass and Galileo constellations, communications satellites that cover the North and South Pole are also put in MEO. The orbital periods of MEO satellites range from about 2 to nearly 24 hours, telstar 1, an experimental satellite launched in 1962, orbits in MEO. The orbit is home to a number of artificial satellites
