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