JPL: A Brief History

A Brief History:

Jet Propulsions Laboratory began in 1936, when the first rockets were tested through the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the Cal Tech (GALCIT).  A few graduate students tested an alcohol based rocket for one of their theses. A professor was able to contract the U.S. Army to fund the GALCIT Rocket Project. During their time with the Army, JPL produced several ballistic missile prototypes, as well as many other weapons systems.  JPL subsequently partnered with theArmy Ballistic Missile Agency’s Redstone Arsenal to propose orbiting a satellite during the International Geophysical Year, which was a year-long, international science project in 1957. JPL lost the proposal to Project Vanguard, which was funded by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). After their loss, JPL began working on re-entry technology that was later paired with NRL to successfully launch Explorer 1 on February 1, 1958. JPL was then immediately transferred to NASA the following December. They became the organization's primary spacecraft center, and have produced the most spacecrafts for interplanetary exploration to date. Their accomplishments include the Ranger and Surveyor missions, which observed the moon before Neil Armstrong and Apollo 11 touched down safely on its surface. JPL is also responsible for the Mariner missions, which explored the planets Venus, Mercury, and Mars.

GALCIT Rocket Project, 1936