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Naval History and Heritage Command

National Museum of the U.S. Navy

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USN 710828: Transit III Conception Art

USN 710828: Transit III-3 Conception Art. The U.S. Navy’s Transit III-3 soars around the Earth in its approximately 500-mile high orbit in an artist’s conception above. The 36-inch, approximately 200-pound sphere, was launched on the nose of an Air Force Thor-Able-Star vehicle from the Atlantic Missile Range, Cape Canaveral, Florida, November 29, 1960. It carried a 40-pound pick-a-back Naval Research Laboratory satellite to measure solar radiation. This third Transit marks another step in the program to provide the Navy with an all-weather, worldwide navigational system. At left are the first two navigational satellites launched in the U.S. Navy Transit program, the I-B, top, and 2-A, below. Atop the 2-A is the radiation satellite similar to the unit sent aloft with the 3-A. Artwork by Roger Simmons. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

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Caption: USN 710828: Transit III Conception Art. The U.S. Navy’s Transit III-3 soars around the Earth in its approximately 500-mile high orbit in an artist’s conception above. The 36-inch, approximately 200-pound sphere, was launched on the nose of an Air Force Thor-Able-Star vehicle from the Atlantic Missile Range, Cape Canaveral, Florida, November 29, 1960. It carried a 40-pound pick-a-back Naval Research Laboratory satellite to measure solar radiation. This third Transit marks another step in the program to provide the Navy with an all-weather, worldwide navigational system. At left are the first two navigational satellites launched in the U.S. Navy Transit program, the I-B, top, and 2-A, below. Atop the 2-A is the radiation satellite similar to the unit sent aloft with the 3-A. Artwork by Roger Simmons. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.