SPECTRA. September 2011

This issue of Spectra showcases the past, present, and future of the Naval Research Laboratorys space program. For more than six decades, NRL has been exploring space in fundamental scientific investigations and for military applications, as the timeline starting on page 6 details. It is one of a handful of laboratories with this legacy and with the wide range of capabilities needed for both basic and applied defense research in space. NRL is known as one of the most successful designers and builders of spacecraft in the United States and has been called on to develop many hundreds of space instruments and subsystems which is why it is designated the Navys lead laboratory in space systems research. Building on the multidisciplinary nature of NRLs mission, the space program integrates the science and engineering expertise found all across the Lab to advance our knowledge of the space domain and hone our ability to understand and predict its impacts on critical Department of Defense operations. Communications, surveillance, precision navigation and timing, battlespace and maritime domain awareness, orbital tracking, space weather prediction these are just a few of the functions that NRLs space research contributes to in innovative and world-leading ways. As we depend more and more on space-based systems, NRL continues to explore the space environment, from Earths atmosphere to the far reaches of the Universe, to expand our knowledge of this awe-inspiring realm.