This week in 1976, the LAser GEOdynamic Satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. LAGEOS was the first spacecraft dedicated exclusively to high-precision laser ranging and provided the first opportunity to acquire laser-ranging data that were not degraded by errors originating in the satellite orbit or satellite array. Small deviations in the satellite’s orbit were used to develop early models of Earth’s gravitational field. With an aluminum shell and solid brass core weighing over 900 pounds, LAGEOS is a passive satellite with no power, communications or moving parts. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center was responsible for the design, development and launch of the satellite. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage. (NASA)