8
already determined stations, while the dotted lines show a
tentative scheme for future work.
As a result of the interest shown by the Coast & Geodetic
Survey, ESSA, Dept, of Commerce and by the Corps of Engineers,
Dept, of Defense, in a strictly geometrically defined world
wide three dimensional triangulation, the U. S. National Geo
detic Satellite Program adopted this concept. In support of
this program the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) launched a balloon satellite similar to ECHO I, in a
nominal polar circular orbit at a height of 4600 km, in June 1966.
The observational program is a cooperative effort between the
Dept, of Commerce (specifically the ESSA-Coast & Geodetic
Survey) and the Dept, of Defense (Army-Corps of Engineers).
Technical responsibility for the total program rests with the
Coast and Geodetic Survey. Under the energetic management
of Capt. L. W. Swanson (C&GS), a group of about 135 to l4o men
are actively engaged in the project of establishing the world
wide net, the observational phase of which is projected to
continue until mid 1970. The program is unclassified and has
international participation. The 15 observational teams com
prise nine Coast & Geodetic Survey teams, four U.S. Army teams,
one team of the United Kingdom, and one team from the German
Federal Republic with its own, but identical, instrumental
system. Australia supports the program with field operations
in her particular area.
The progress made in the observational program is
illustrated in Figure 2. The heavy bars show the number of
successful missions observed on either side of the respective
lines. Four or more missions are indicated by complete lines.
Fractional lines indicate percentage of completion, where
four missions equal 100$. The solid circles designate com
pleted stations; the open circles stations which are scheduled
for reoccupation; the crossed circles stations presently
occupied; and the dashed circles are stations to be occupied
in future phases of the program.
The international character of the program is evidenced
further by the fact that the Australian National Geodetic
Survey is establishing an East-West scale line across the
southern part of that continent; similarly, the USA is
measuring a scale line across the conterminous United States
while the European community provides a scaler from Troms6
in northern Norway to the world net station in Sicily. These
measurements are executed with the active participation of
Sweden, Denmark, West Germany, Austria and Italy. Other
countries are cooperating with the establishment of the