NAVSAT stands for Navy Navigational Satellite System, also known as TRANSIT system was send by the United States Navy. This was the first satellite launched for the purpose of navigation. On October 4, 1957 after the launch of Sputnik, the NAVSAT was launched into space. This satellite was developed in Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The prototype for this satellite is TRANSIT 1A which had failed to reach the orbit. The orbits of the TRANSIT satellites were selected in such a manner to cover the entire earth. These orbits are crossed over the poles and were spread out at the equator. The NAVSAT system was used to provide accurate location information to ballistic missile submarines. The secondary mission of this satellite is to transmit encrypted messages. This system was made no longer in use by the Global Positioning System. It is completely ceased from its navigation service in 1996. After ceasing the navigation services these satellites are used as space borne mailboxes and also as the Navy’s Ionospheric Monitoring System.
Mar 07 2010