Draper Laboratory is an American not-for-profit research and development organization founded in 1932 that specializes in the design, development, and deployment of advanced technology solutions for national security, space exploration, healthcare, and energy. The company has over 1,000 employees across eight states. Its headquarters are located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Draper Laboratory’s roots go back to the Great Depression when a group of MIT engineers and scientists led by Charles Stark “Doc” Draper set out to develop an instrument that could measure wind speed at altitudes above 10,000 feet (3 km). They succeeded, and their anemometer became the first instrument to be used on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. The US Weather Bureau soon began using Draper’s anemometers on all its mountaintop stations.
In 1941, with the United States involvement in World War II imminent, Doc Draper turned his attention to developing equipment for military use. He pioneered the field of inertial navigation with his development of the gyrocompass stabilized platform which helped keep bombers on course during night raids over Germany. This work led to a contract from the U.S Navy to develop what became known as the Inertial Navigation System (INS), which was used extensively in both manned aircraft and missiles during the Cold War era. INS remains an important technology for modern navigation systems.
After the war ended, Doc Draper continued his work on improving missile guidance systems. In 1955 he successfully tested a new system he had developed for accurately guiding air-to-air missiles; this system became known as “beam riding.” beam riding guidance is still used today in some short range missiles such as surface-to-air defense systems. In 1959 Draper Lab completed development of Hades, America’s first satellite destruction weapon system designed to shoot down enemy satellites in orbit; however it was never deployed due to international treaties banning such weapons .
During the 1960s and 1970s many new challenges arose as part of America’s Space Race with Russia including designing Apollo Guidance Computers (AGC) for use on board spacecraft headed for lunar orbit or landing missions; these AGCs were also used extensively on later Space Shuttle flights . Other notable achievements include developing prototype Mars rovers , working on human factors studies related to long duration spaceflight , developing algorithms that enable autonomous rendezvous and docking of spacecraft ,and participating in several interplanetary mission including Voyager 2’s flyby of Jupiter . More recently Draper has been involved with developing new technologies for use in small satellites , CubeSats ,and microsatellites as well helping mature commercial space endeavors like SpaceX ‘s Dragon Capsule through participation NASA ‘s Commercial Crew Program
Some current projects underway at Draper include continuing work on next generation GPS receivers ; researching how advances artificial intelligence can be used help humans explore and settle other worlds ; developing new methods wireless power transfer ;and creating more efficient algorithms secure communications just name a few . As we face ever more complex global challenges it seems certain that organizations like will play vital role helping solve them