National Air and Space Museum Image Detail

Transit Satellite

This is an operational backup of a Transit 5-A satellite. Developed in the 1960s by the U.S. Navy, the Transit system grew to six satellites, gave worldwide coverage every 90 minutes, and provided position accuracy to within 200 meters (660 feet). Transit service was made available to commercial shipping in 1967 and operated until 1996, when the GPS was fully operational.

Image Number: WEB12535-2012

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Large JPEG (1078 x 2000 pixels)

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