Delta 2 rocket's maiden launch.Delta 2 rocket's maiden launch On Feb. 15, the first flight of a Delta 2 -- one of several new rocket designs ordered by the Defense Department to free that agency from dependence on the space shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. -- successfully carried into orbit an upgraded version of the U.S. Air Force's Navstar navigation satellite navigation satellite, artificial satellite designed expressly to aid the navigation of sea and air traffic. Early navigation satellites, from the Transit series launched in 1960 to the U.S. navy's Navigation Satellite System, relied on the Doppler shift. . By 1992 the Navstar Global Positioning System Global Positioning System: see navigation satellite. Global Positioning System (GPS) Precise satellite-based navigation and location system originally developed for U.S. military use. is to consist of 21 satellites, providing accurate locations to air, sea and land forces 24 hours a day. |
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