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72-742: The laboratory was founded in 1932 by Charles Stark Draper at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to develop aeronautical instrumentation, and came to be called the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory . During this period the laboratory is best known for developing the Apollo Guidance Computer , the first silicon integrated circuit –based computer. It was renamed for its founder in 1970, and separated from MIT in 1973 to become an independent, non-profit organization. The expertise of

144-414: A nuclear warhead and allows a single launched missile to strike several targets. Submarine-launched ballistic missiles operate in a different way from submarine-launched cruise missiles . Modern submarine-launched ballistic missiles are closely related to intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), with ranges of over 5,500 kilometres (3,000 nmi), and in many cases SLBMs and ICBMs may be part of

216-437: A security scanner similar to those used at airports, but special security clearances are not required to access the semi-public areas. The research-based Draper Fellow Program sponsors about 50 graduate students each year. Students are trained to fill leadership positions in the government, military, industry, and education. The laboratory also supports on-campus funded research with faculty and principal investigators through

288-520: A "whole new industry in inertial instruments and systems for airplanes, ships, submarines , missiles, satellites and space vehicles". The National Academy of Engineering established the Charles Stark Draper Prize in 1988 on behalf of the namesake's laboratory at MIT. The prize, which is awarded annually and consists of $ 500,000 in cash, a gold medallion, and a hand-inscribed certificate, aims to "increase public understanding of

360-739: A Polaris A-1 on 20 July 1960. Fifty-two days later, the Soviet Union made its first successful underwater launch of a submarine ballistic missile in the White Sea, on 10 September 1960 from the same converted Project 611 ( NATO reporting name Zulu-IV class) submarine that first launched the R-11FM. The Soviets were only a year behind the US with their first SSBN, the ill-fated K-19 of Project 658 (Hotel class), commissioned in November 1960. However,

432-545: A day by taking a drop of blood obtained by a pinprick and inserting the sample into a machine that can measure glucose level. The nano-sensor approach would supplant this process. Laboratory staff worked in teams to create novel navigation systems, based on inertial guidance and on digital computers to support the necessary calculations for determining spatial positioning. Draper Laboratory applies some of its resources to developing and recognizing technical talent through educational programs and public exhibitions. It also sponsors

504-489: A different target. Although the US did not commission any new SSBNs from 1967 through 1981, it did introduce two new SLBMs. Thirty-one of the 41 original US SSBNs were built with larger diameter launch tubes with future missiles in mind. In the early 1970s the Poseidon (C-3) missile entered service, and those 31 SSBNs were backfitted with it. Poseidon offered a massive MIRV capability of up to 14 warheads per missile. Like

576-507: A full-sized motion simulator like the one used by the astronauts to practice the actual mission. Talks by Draper staffers and retirees, and free public concerts rounded out the festivities. A special Hack the Moon website was created to memorialize the celebration. Other exhibitions have highlighted different aspects of the research projects conducted at Draper, including information about employment opportunities. All visitors must pass through

648-752: A lone Typhoon used as a testbed for new missiles (the R-39s unique to the Typhoons were reportedly scrapped in 2012). Upgraded missiles such as the R-29RMU Sineva (SS-N-23 Sineva) were developed for the Deltas. In 2013 the Russians commissioned the first Borei-class submarine , also called the Dolgorukiy class after the lead vessel. By 2015 two others had entered service. This class is intended to replace

720-690: A new method for turning the International Space Station , called the "optimal propellant maneuver", which achieved a 94 percent savings over previous practice. The algorithm takes into account everything that affects how the station moves, including "the position of its thrusters and the effects of gravity and gyroscopic torque". As of 2013, at a personal scale, Draper was developing a garment for use in orbit that uses Controlled Moment Gyros (CMGs) that creates resistance to movement of an astronaut's limbs to help mitigate bone loss and maintain muscle tone during prolonged space flight. The unit

792-742: A range of 7,700 kilometres (4,200 nmi), entered service on the first Delta-I boat in 1972, before the Yankee class was even completed. A total of 43 Delta-class boats of all types entered service 1972–90, with the SS-N-18 on the Delta III class and the R-29RM Shtil (SS-N-23) on the Delta IV class. The new missiles had increased range and eventually multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles ( MIRV ), multiple warheads that could each hit

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864-466: A sensor payload to achieve the intended mission. The NAVS must work in urban areas with little or no GPS signal availability, relying on vision-based sensors and systems. In 2009, Draper collaborated with the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary to develop an implantable drug-delivery device, which "merges aspects of microelectromechanical systems , or MEMS, with microfluidics, which enables

936-438: A substantial body research into the psychology of deception. As of 2010 Neil Adams, a director of tactical systems programs for Draper Laboratory, led the systems integration of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 's (DARPA) Nano Aerial Vehicle (NAV) program to miniaturize flying reconnaissance platforms. This entails managing the vehicle, communications and ground control systems allow NAVs to function autonomously to carry

1008-489: A technology to detect potential terrorists with cameras and other sensors that monitor behaviors of people being screened. The project is called Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST). The application would be for security checkpoints to assess candidates for follow-up screening. In a demonstration of the technology, the project manager Robert P. Burns explained that the system is designed to distinguish between malicious intent and benign expressions of distress by employing

1080-585: A very delicate region of the ear, the implant will allow sensory cells to regrow, ultimately restoring the patient's hearing". As of 2010, Heather Clark of Draper Laboratory was developing a method to measure blood glucose concentration without finger-pricking. The method uses a nano-sensor, like a miniature tattoo, just several millimeters across, that patients apply to the skin. The sensor uses near-infrared or visible light ranges to determine glucose concentrations. Normally to regulate their blood glucose levels, diabetics must measure their blood glucose several times

1152-418: Is available on Earth from gravity. Without it an applied force would result in an equal force in the opposite direction, either in a straight line or spinning. In space, this could send an astronaut out of control. Currently, astronauts must affix themselves to the surface being worked on. The CMGs would offer an alternative to mechanical connection or gravitational force. On November 29, 2018, Draper Laboratory

1224-543: Is based on a design by a Japanese company called ispace , which is a team member of Draper in this venture. Subcontractors in this venture include General Atomics which will manufacture the lander, and Spaceflight Industries , which will arrange launch services for the lander. As of September 2023, Draper and ispace are developing a lunar lander called APEX 1.0 to deliver CLPS payloads to the moon in 2026. Draper researchers develop artificial intelligence systems to allow robotic devices to learn from their mistakes, This work

1296-412: Is called a Variable Vector Countermeasure suit, or V2Suit, which uses CMGs also to assist in balance and movement coordination by creating resistance to movement and an artificial sense of "down". Each CMG module is about the size of a deck of cards. The concept is for the garment to be worn "in the lead-up to landing back on Earth or periodically throughout a long mission". In 2013, a Draper/MIT/NASA team

1368-615: Is in support of DARPA -funded work, pertaining to the Army Future Combat System . This capability would allow an autonomous under fire to learn that that road is dangerous and find a safer route or to recognize that its fuel status and damage status. As of 2008, Paul DeBitetto reportedly led the cognitive robotics group at the laboratory in this effort. As of 2009, the US Department of Homeland Security funded Draper Laboratory and other collaborators to develop

1440-445: Is necessitated by gradual error growth or "drift"), because of the threat of hostile blocking or jamming of signal. A less accurate inertial system usually means a less costly system, but one that requires more frequent recalibration of position from another source, like GPS. Systems which integrate GPS with INS are classified as "loosely coupled" (pre-1995), "tightly coupled" (1996-2002), or "deeply integrated" (2002 onwards), depending on

1512-701: The ASME 's Rufus Oldenburger Medal in 1971, the Robert H. Goddard Trophy in 1978, the AACC 's Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award and the Smithsonian 's Langley Gold Medal in 1981, and the National Academy of Engineering 's Founders Award. His renown was international, and was recognized by many foreign countries, including France , United Kingdom , Germany , Switzerland , Czechoslovakia , and

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1584-884: The American Physical Society , the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , the American Society of Mechanical Engineers , and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers . Draper received more than 70 honors and awards, including the Howard N. Potts Medal in 1960, the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1961, the National Medal of Science from President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964,

1656-539: The Charles Stark Draper Prize , one of the three so-called "Nobel Prizes of Engineering" administered by the US National Academy of Engineering . From time to time, Draper Laboratory hosts free exhibitions and events open to the public, which are presented in special semi-public spaces at the front of the central atrium space in the main Duffy Building. For example, in 2019 Draper presented Hack

1728-494: The Charles Stark Draper Prize , which is administered by the National Academy of Engineering . It is awarded "to recognize innovative engineering achievements and their reduction to practice in ways that have led to important benefits and significant improvement in the well-being and freedom of humanity". Achievements in any engineering discipline are eligible for the $ 500,000 prize. Charles Stark Draper Charles Stark " Doc " Draper (October 2, 1901 – July 25, 1987)

1800-541: The Cold War , as they can hide from reconnaissance satellites and fire their nuclear weapons with virtual impunity. This makes them immune to a first strike directed against nuclear forces, allowing each side to maintain the capability to launch a devastating retaliatory strike , even if all land-based missiles have been destroyed. This relieves each side of the necessity to adopt a launch on warning posture, with its attendant risk of accidental nuclear war. Additionally,

1872-620: The Google Lunar X Prize send the first privately funded robot to the Moon. To qualify for the prize, the robot must travel 500 meters across the lunar surface and transmit video, images and other data back to Earth. A team developed a "Terrestrial Artificial Lunar and Reduced Gravity Simulator" to simulate operations in the space environment, using Draper Laboratory's guidance, navigation and control algorithm for reduced gravity. In 2012, Draper Laboratory engineers in Houston , Texas developed

1944-849: The Naval Submarine Base King's Bay in Georgia was built for the Trident I-equipped force. Both the United States and the Soviet Union commissioned larger SSBNs designed for new missiles in 1981. The American large SSBN was the Ohio class , also called the "Trident submarine", with the largest SSBN armament ever of 24 missiles, initially Trident I but built with much larger tubes for the Trident II (D-5) missile , which entered service in 1990. The entire class

2016-835: The Soviet Union . Draper was inducted as a member of the inaugural class to the International Space Hall of Fame . Draper was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1981. He died in the Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts , at age 85. He was eulogized as "one of the foremost engineers of our time", and Howard Wesley Johnson , Chairman of the MIT Corporation , credited him for creating

2088-500: The UGM-27 Polaris missile program. The Apollo software team was led by Margaret Hamilton (who wrote code to provide visual cues when prioritization was working correctly) and included work by programmers such as Hal Laning , Dick Battin and Don Eyles . Draper has locations in several US cities: Former locations include Tampa, Florida at University of South Florida (Bioengineering Center). According to its website,

2160-604: The University of Missouri in 1917, then transferred to Stanford University , California in 1919, from which he earned a B.A . in psychology in 1922. He matriculated at MIT in 1922, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in electrochemical engineering (1926), and Master of Science (1928), and a Doctor of Science (1938) degrees in physics . Charles Stark Draper's relatives were prominent in his home state of Missouri , including his cousin, Governor Lloyd C. Stark . Draper began teaching at MIT as an assistant professor. He

2232-455: The nuclear test series Operation Dominic . The first Soviet SSBN with 16 missiles was the Project 667A (Yankee class), which first entered service in 1967 with 32 boats completed by 1974. By the time the first Yankee was commissioned the US had built 41 SSBNs, nicknamed the " 41 for Freedom ". The short range of the early SLBMs dictated basing and deployment locations. By the late 1960s

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2304-673: The Apollo computers and software. Draper was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1981 for his multiple inventions and scientific contributions. Draper was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering of the National Academy of Sciences as well as the French Academy of Sciences . He had served as president of the International Academy of Astronautics , and was a member of

2376-568: The Hotel class carried only three R-13 missiles (NATO reporting name SS-N-4) each and had to surface and raise the missile to launch. Submerged launch was not an operational capability for the Soviets until 1963, when the R-21 missile (SS-N-5) was first backfitted to Project 658 (Hotel class) and Project 629 (Golf class) submarines. The Soviet Union was able to beat the U.S. in launching and testing

2448-519: The Moon , a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo Moon landing on July 20, 1969 . The exhibition featured artifacts, such as the Apollo Guidance Computer hardware developed at Draper, and the mission software developed by Draper staffers including Don Eyles , Margaret Hamilton , and Hal Laning . Visitors could practice landing the Apollo Lunar Module on a software simulator, and then attempt to land while riding inside

2520-554: The Moon and back safely to Earth. The laboratory contributed to the development of inertial sensors, software, and other systems for the GN&;C of commercial and military aircraft, submarines, strategic and tactical missiles, spacecraft, and uncrewed vehicles. Inertial-based GN&C systems were central for navigating ballistic missile submarines for long periods of time undersea to avoid detection, and guiding their submarine-launched ballistic missiles to their targets, starting with

2592-843: The Navy, beginning in late 1955. However, at the Project Nobska submarine warfare conference in 1956, physicist Edward Teller stated that a physically small one-megaton warhead could be produced for the relatively small, solid-fueled Polaris missile , and this prompted the Navy to leave the Jupiter program in December of that year. Soon Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Arleigh Burke concentrated all Navy strategic research on Polaris , still under Admiral Raborn's Special Project Office. All US SLBMs have been solid-fueled while all Soviet and Russian SLBMs have been liquid-fueled except for

2664-568: The Polaris A-3 was deployed on all US SSBNs with a range of 4,600 kilometres (2,500 nmi), a great improvement on the 1,900 kilometres (1,000 nmi) range of Polaris A-1. The A-3 also had three warheads that landed in a pattern around a single target. The Yankee class was initially equipped with the R-27 Zyb missile (SS-N-6) with a range of 2,400 kilometres (1,300 nmi). The US was much more fortunate in its basing arrangements than

2736-499: The Russian RSM-56 Bulava , which entered service in 2014. The world's first operational nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) was USS  George Washington  (SSBN-598) with 16 Polaris A-1 missiles, which entered service in December 1959 and conducted the first SSBN deterrent patrol November 1960 – January 1961. George Washington also conducted the first successful submerged SLBM launch with

2808-585: The Soviets, the US also desired a longer-range missile that would allow SSBNs to be based in CONUS. In the late 1970s the Trident I (C-4) missile with a range of 7,400 kilometres (4,000 nmi) and eight MIRV warheads was backfitted to 12 of the Poseidon-equipped submarines. The SSBN facilities (primarily a submarine tender and floating dry dock ) of the base at Rota, Spain were disestablished and

2880-651: The Soviets. Thanks to NATO and the US possession of Guam , US SSBNs were permanently forward deployed at Advanced Refit Sites in Holy Loch , Scotland, Rota, Spain , and Guam by the middle 1960s, resulting in short transit times to patrol areas near the Soviet Union. The SSBN facilities at the Advanced Refit Sites were austere, with only a submarine tender and floating dry dock . Converted merchant ships designated T-AKs ( Military Sealift Command cargo ships) were provided to ferry missiles and supplies to

2952-607: The US with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in 1991. The US rapidly decommissioned its remaining 31 older SSBNs, with a few converted to other roles, and the base at Holy Loch was disestablished. Most of the former Soviet SSBN force was gradually scrapped under the provisions of the Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction agreement through 2012. By that time the Russian SSBN force stood at six Delta-IVs, three Delta-IIIs, and

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3024-565: The United States ( Operation Paperclip ) and for the Soviet Union on their SLBM programs. These and other early SLBM systems required vessels to be surfaced when they fired missiles, but launch systems were adapted to allow underwater launching in the 1950-1960s. A converted Project 611 (Zulu-IV class) submarine launched the world's first SLBM, an R-11FM (SS-N-1 Scud-A, naval variant of the SS-1 Scud ) on 16 September 1955. Five additional Project V611 and AV611 (Zulu-V class) submarines became

3096-528: The University R&;D program. It offers undergraduate student employment and internship opportunities. Draper Laboratory conducts a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) K–12 and community education outreach program, which it established in 1984. Each year, the laboratory distributes more than $ 175,000 through its community relations programs. These funds include support of internships, co-ops, participation in science festivals and

3168-487: The aging Deltas, and carries 16 solid-fuel RSM-56 Bulava missiles, with a reported range of 10,000 kilometres (5,400 nmi) and six MIRV warheads. The US is building a replacement for the Ohio class ; however, the first of the class wasn't laid down until October 2020. Ballistic missile submarines have been of great strategic importance for the United States, Russia, and other nuclear powers since they entered service in

3240-604: The continental United States ( CONUS ) at risk. This resulted in only a small percentage of the Soviet force occupying patrol areas at any time, and was a great motivation for longer-range Soviet SLBMs, which would allow them to patrol close to their bases, in areas sometimes referred to as "deep bastions". These missiles were the R-29 Vysota series (SS-N-8, SS-N-18, SS-N-23), equipped on Projects 667B, 667BD, 667BDR, and 667BDRM (Delta-I through Delta-IV classes). The SS-N-8, with

3312-541: The contributions of engineering and technology to the welfare and freedom of humanity". Endowment for the prize was provided by the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory. Submarine-launched ballistic missile A submarine-launched ballistic missile ( SLBM ) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines . Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries

3384-481: The degree of integration of the hardware. As of 2006, it was envisioned that many military and civilian uses would integrate GPS with INS, including the possibility of artillery shells with a deeply integrated system that can withstand 20,000 g , when fired from a cannon. In 2010 Draper Laboratory and MIT collaborated with two other partners as part of the Next Giant Leap team to win a grant towards achieving

3456-596: The deployment of highly accurate missiles on ultra-quiet submarines allows an attacker to sneak up close to the enemy coast and launch a missile on a depressed trajectory (a non-optimal ballistic trajectory which trades off reduced throw-weight for a faster and lower path, effectively reducing the time between launch and impact), thus opening the possibility of a decapitation strike . Specific types of SLBMs (current, past and under development) include: Some former Russian SLBMs have been converted into Volna and Shtil' launch vehicles to launch satellites – either from

3528-531: The development and early application of advanced guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) technologies to meet the needs of the US Department of Defense and NASA . The laboratory's achievements include the design and development of accurate and reliable guidance systems for undersea-launched ballistic missiles, as well as for the Apollo Guidance Computer that unfailingly guided the Apollo astronauts to

3600-517: The end of 1982. These were all in the Pacific, and the Guam SSBN base was disestablished; the first several Ohio -class boats used new Trident facilities at Naval Submarine Base Bangor , Washington . Eighteen Ohio -class boats were commissioned by 1997, four of which were converted as cruise missile submarines (SSGN) in the 2000s to comply with START I treaty requirements. The Soviet large SSBN

3672-625: The first SLBM with a live nuclear warhead, an R-13 that detonated in the Novaya Zemlya Test Range in the Arctic Ocean, doing so on 20 October 1961, just ten days before the gigantic 50 Mt Tsar Bomba 's detonation in the same general area. The United States eventually conducted a similar test in the Pacific Ocean on 6 May 1962, with a Polaris A-2 launched from USS  Ethan Allen  (SSBN-608) as part of

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3744-566: The first contract given out for the Apollo program to send humans to the Moon , which was announced by President John F. Kennedy on 25 May of that year. This led to the creation of the Apollo Guidance Computer , a one-cubic-foot computer that controlled the navigation and guidance of the lunar module to the Moon on nine launches, six of which landed on the Moon's surface. Draper taught and conducted research at MIT until January 1970, devoting most of his energy during his final decade to completing

3816-478: The laboratory staff applies its expertise to autonomous air, land, sea and space systems; information integration; distributed sensors and networks; precision-guided munitions; biomedical engineering; chemical/biological defense; and energy system modeling and management. When appropriate, Draper works with partners to transition their technology to commercial production. The laboratory encompasses seven areas of technical expertise: Project areas that have surfaced in

3888-482: The laboratory staff includes the areas of guidance, navigation, and control technologies and systems; fault-tolerant computing; advanced algorithms and software systems; modeling and simulation; and microelectromechanical systems and multichip module technology. In 1932 Charles Stark Draper, an MIT aeronautics professor, founded a teaching laboratory to develop the instrumentation needed for tracking, controlling and navigating aircraft. During World War II , Draper's lab

3960-626: The news referred to Draper Laboratory's core expertise in inertial navigation , as recently as 2003. More recently, emphasis has shifted to research in innovative space navigation topics, intelligent systems that rely on sensors and computers to make autonomous decisions, and nano-scale medical devices. The laboratory staff has studied ways to integrate input from Global Positioning System (GPS) into Inertial navigation system -based navigation in order to lower costs and improve reliability. Military inertial navigation systems (INS) cannot totally rely on GPS satellite availability for course correction (which

4032-444: The original buildings was converted into an enclosed 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m) multistory atrium to accommodate security scanning, reception, semipublic areas, temporary exhibition space, and employee dining facilities. The open, airy interior space, designed by Boston architects Elkus Manfredi , features a green wall planting and plentiful seating. A primary focus of the laboratory's programs throughout its history has been

4104-473: The precise control of fluids on very small scales". The device is a "flexible, fluid-filled machine", which uses tubes that expand and contract to promote fluid flow through channels with a defined rhythm, driven by a micro-scale pump, which adapts to environmental input. The system, funded by the National Institutes of Health , may treat hearing loss by delivering "tiny amounts of a liquid drug to

4176-671: The provision of tours and speakers-is an extension of this mission. As of 2021, Draper Laboratory also sponsors Draper Spark!Lab, at the National Museum of American History on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The hands-on invention workspace operated by the Smithsonian Institution is free to all visitors, and focuses on educational activities for children aged 6 to 12 years. The company endows

4248-408: The same family of weapons. The first practical design of a submarine -based launch platform was developed by the Germans near the end of World War II involving a launch tube which contained a V-2 ballistic missile variant and was towed behind a submarine, known by the code-name Prüfstand XII . The war ended before it could be tested, but the engineers who had worked on it were taken to work for

4320-406: The sites. With two rotating crews per boat, about one-third of the total US force could be in a patrol area at any time. The Soviet bases, in Severomorsk (near Murmansk ) for the Arctic - Atlantic theater in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky for the Pacific theater, required their SSBNs to make a long transit (e.g., through NATO-monitored waters in the Atlantic) to their mid-ocean patrol areas to hold

4392-400: The time of the Vietnam War , despite the absence of a role of the laboratory in that war. As it divested from MIT, the laboratory was initially moved to 75 Cambridge Parkway and other scattered buildings near MIT, until a centralized new 450,000-square-foot (42,000 m) building could be erected at 555 Technology Square . The complex, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (Chicago),

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4464-420: The world's first operational ballistic missile submarines (SSBs) with two R-11FM missiles each, entering service in 1956–57. The United States Navy initially worked on a sea-based variant of the US Army Jupiter intermediate-range ballistic missile , projecting four of the large, liquid-fueled missiles per submarine. Rear Admiral W. F. "Red" Raborn headed a Special Project Office to develop Jupiter for

4536-412: Was also developing a CMG-augmented spacesuit that would expand the current capabilities of NASA's "Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue" (SAFER)—a spacesuit designed for "propulsive self-rescue" for when an astronaut accidentally becomes untethered from a spacecraft. The CMG-augmented suit would provide better counterforce than is now available for when astronauts use tools in low-gravity environments. Counterforce

4608-418: Was an American scientist and engineer , known as the "father of inertial navigation ". He was the founder and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 's Instrumentation Laboratory, later renamed the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory , which made the Apollo Moon landings possible through the Apollo Guidance Computer it designed for NASA . Draper was born in Windsor, Missouri . He attended

4680-409: Was appointed a full professor in aeronautical engineering in 1939. It was here that he founded the Instrumentation Laboratory in the 1930s, spun off in 1973 as the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory . Draper's interest in flight instrumentation was influenced by becoming a pilot in the 1930s: although he failed to become an Air Corps pilot, he learned to fly by enrolling in a civilian course. Draper

4752-431: Was caused by cutbacks in defense funding, and changes in government contracting rules. In response, Draper expanded its work addressing non-defense national goals in areas such as space exploration, energy resources, medicine, robotics, and artificial intelligence, and also took measures to increase its non-government work, eventually growing to 1400 employees within the decade. In 2017, a formerly open-air courtyard between

4824-404: Was converted to use Trident II by the early 2000s. Trident II offered a range of over 8,000 kilometres (4,300 nmi) with eight larger MIRV warheads than Trident I. When the USS  Ohio  (SSBN-726) commenced sea trials in 1980, two of the first ten US SSBNs had their missiles removed to comply with SALT treaty requirements; the remaining eight were converted to attack submarines (SSN) by

4896-512: Was known as the Confidential Instrument Development Laboratory . Later, the name was changed to the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory or I-Lab . As of 1970, it was located at 45 Osborn Street in Cambridge. The laboratory was renamed for its founder in 1970 and remained a part of MIT until 1973 when it became an independent, not-for-profit research and development corporation. The transition to an independent corporation arose out of pressures for divestment of MIT laboratories doing military research at

4968-418: Was named a Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contractor by NASA , which makes it eligible to bid on delivering science and technology payloads to the Moon for NASA. Draper Lab formally proposed a lunar lander called Artemis-7 . The company explained that the number 7 denotes the 7th lunar lander mission in which Draper Laboratory would be involved, after the six Apollo lunar landings. The lander concept

5040-426: Was one of the pioneers of inertial navigation, a technology used in aircraft , space vehicles, and submarines that enables such vehicles to navigate by sensing changes in direction and speed using gyroscopes and accelerometers . A pioneering figure in aerospace engineering , he contributed to the Apollo space program with his knowledge of guidance systems. In 1961 Draper and the Instrumentation Lab were awarded

5112-487: Was opened in 1976 (later renamed the "Robert A. Duffy Building" in 1992). In 1984, the newly-built 170,000-square-foot (16,000 m) Albert G. Hill Building was opened at One Hampshire Street, and connected across the street to the main building via a securely enclosed pedestrian skybridge . However in 1989, Draper Lab was compelled to cut its workforce of over 2000 in half, through a combination of early retirement, attrition, and involuntary layoffs. This drastic shrinkage

5184-608: Was the Project 941 Akula , famous as the Typhoon-class (and not to be confused with the Project 971 Shchuka attack submarine , called "Akula" by NATO). The Typhoons were the largest submarines ever built at 48,000 tons submerged. They were armed with 20 of the new R-39 Rif (SS-N-20) missiles with a range of 8,300 kilometres (4,500 nmi) and 10 MIRV warheads. Six Typhoons were commissioned in 1981–89. New SSBN construction terminated for over 10 years in Russia and slowed in

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