1933

 

Charles Stark Draper Laboratory 1933
Charles Stark Draper, Research Associate at MIT, led work at the Aeronautical Instrumentation Laboratory credited as notable contributions in the field in the MIT President’s Report for 1933–34.

 

1940

inertial navigation
Charles Stark Draper’s early work on fire control led to his first experiments in inertial navigation, detailed in an 1940 MIT doctoral thesis by Walter Wrigley, one of Draper’s students.

1942

The Lab’s Mark 14 Gunsight first was used by anti-aircraft gunners aboard the USS North Carolina during the battle of Stewart Island. It was the first of Draper’s designs that used the “disturbed-line-of-sight” principle.

1944

The Laboratory began to work actively on the A-1 aircraft gun-bomb rocket sight. Ultimately, it became the A-4 gunsight used in the Korean War on F-86 Day Fighters.

1947

 

1947
The Instrumentation Laboratory developed the single-degree-of-freedom, rate integrating, floated gyroscope. It enabled a stabilized platform and led to the start of high-performance gyros for ballistic missile guidance, Apollo, SINS and satellites.

 

1949

 

1949 first demonstration
The first celestial-aided inertial navigation system, FEBE, was demonstrated by the Instrumentation Laboratory in an Air Force B-29 aircraft. A predecessor to SPIRE, FEBE used stars as reference points to improve navigational accuracy.

1953

 

Dr. Hal Laning
Dr. Hal Laning developed the first compiler program written to translate mathematical notation into a usable program for a computer. He began the effort in 1952 and achieved an operational program 1953.
Space Inertial Reference Equipment (SPIRE)
Space Inertial Reference Equipment (SPIRE) guided the first coast-to-coast airplane flight without the aid of a pilot – the first working implementation of “inertial navigation” for a cross-country trip.

1954

 

1954
The Marine Stable Element (MAST) system, a gyroscopic compass and a stable vertical unit combined into one instrument, was tested at sea. Some of MAST’s technology later would be incorporated into the SINS and missile guidance system designs.
1954
The Lab developed an inertial guidance mechanization, including new guidance theory and equations, which offered a superior, nonjammable system to control ballistic missiles autonomously without broadcasting their positions. It was used first in the Thor Intermedate Range Ballistic Missile.

 

1955

SINS
The Instrumentation Laboratory delivered an experimental SINS to the Bureau of Ships. The SINS was intended for submarines that would carry Polaris missiles.

1957

The U.S. Navy issued a contract to design, model, test and document an all-inertial guidance system for the Polaris missile, beginning the long relationship between the Laboratory and the Navy Strategic Programs Office.

Sped up by the Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite, the first successful test flight of a U.S. Air Force Thor intermediate-range ballistic missile with all-inertial guidance was held later that year.
 

FLIMBAL
The Instrumentation Lab provided inertial guidance design and consulting support to industry. Development began of the Floated Inertial Measurement Ball (FLIMBAL), which would place all the inertial instruments and the associated electronics of a self-contained all-attitude system inside a floated sphere.
MIt IL. SIns 1957
MIT IL was given a sole-source contract to develop the guidance and on-orbit control system for the WS-117L satellite vehicle based on the MIT IL SINS. That program ultimately led to the first U.S. reconnaissance program and the Corona spacecraft.

 

1959

 

1959
The Mars probe concept developed by the Instrumentation Lab led to a NASA contract. The breadboard model developed later became the baseline for the Apollo computer’s architecture and function, including navigation and control.

1960

 

1960 Polaris
A Polaris A1 missile was launched successfully for the first time from a submerged submarine deployed with the MK1 guidance system designed by the Instrumentation Lab. The Polaris A1 had a range of 1,200 nautical miles.

1961
 
1961
President John F. Kennedy commits the nation to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Draper received the first major contract awarded by NASA for the Apollo project, which was for the guidance, navigation and control system.
 

1961-2
The U.S. Air Force Titan II missile is successfully tested. Its inertial system was built by industry based on a prototype Instrumentation Lab design. MIT’s guidance system for Titan was a development from Thor’s IRBM system.

 

1962

 

1962-1
The first research at the Instrumentation Laboratory into strapdown navigation systems was reported on in a student's ScD thesis: Theoretical Analysis of Gimballess Inertial Equipment Using Delta-Modulated Instruments by Thomas Wiener.
1962-2
The Polaris A2 Fleet Ballistic Missile was deployed. Its guidance system, designed by the Instrumentation Laboratory, enabled the missile to reach a target 1,500 nautical miles away from launch point.

 

1963

 

1963
The first flight of the U.S. Air Force Minuteman II missile with an NS-17 guidance system containing a Pendulous Integrating Gyroscope Accelerometer (PIGA) designed by the Instrumentation Laboratory occurs.

 

1964

The Polaris A3 fleet ballistic missile was deployed aboard USS Daniel Webster (SSBN 626) with the Instrumentation Laboratory-designed MK2 guidance system. The missile’s range was 2,500 nautical miles.

Submarine Inertial Navigation System (SINS) MK IV MOD 2
Submarine Inertial Navigation System (SINS) MK IV MOD 2 was tested at sea. In development since 1960, it had improved technology from the prototype SINS.
 

1968

1968-1
The Poseidon (C3) fleet ballistic missile, the successor to Polaris for U.S. Navy, was first flight tested with Lab-designed MK3 guidance system.
1968-2



The Apollo 8 crew orbited the moon in a craft using a guidance and control system designed by the Laboratory.

1969

Apollo 11 made the historic first manned moon landing using the onboard computer guidance, navigation and control systems designed by the Instrumentation Lab for both the Command Module and the Lunar Module.

1970

 

1970-1
Draper was asked to provide designs for the Space Shuttle avionics system; a contract was received in 1971 from NASA. Over time, Draper’s role grew into sole responsibility for design of the Space Shuttle’s on-orbit flight control system and its backup flight control software.

The Apollo 13 crew was rescued after an onboard explosion. Draper-developed contingency autopilot software in the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) computer ensured stable control of the combined LEM and Command and Service Module during the trajectory correct maneuver to return to Earth.
 
1970-3
The Instrumentation Lab was renamed The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, a division of MIT. MIT President Howard Johnson announced a plan to divest Draper Laboratory.  
1970-3
The Laboratory delivered the Integrated Control and Display system to the U.S. Navy for the first of two Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicles (DSRVs) that launched that year.

 

1971

1971-1
The U.S. Navy Poseidon C3 ballistic missile using the Draper-designed MK3 guidance system was deployed on the USS James Madison.
 
1971-2
U.S. Navy’s Special Projects Office (SP) gave Draper Lab overall design and development responsibility for the guidance system for the Trident I missile. The new design would use a star-tracker system to improve accuracy.

 

1972

1972-1
The third of four satellites of NASA’s Orbiting Astronomical Observatory went into orbit; it was the first to feature a Draper-designed inertial reference unit containing three floated beryllium gyros (2FBGs).

 

1972-2
The first successful flight test of an aircraft completely under the control of an electronic digital fly-by-wire control system, designed by Draper and NASA Dryden, was accomplished.

1973

 

1973-1
Draper became an independent, not-for-profit corporation, The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.
1973-2
Skylab began two years of space experiments, including three manned flights to Skylab employing Apollo Command Modules. Draper developed the algorithms used for Skylab’s guidance and control package.

1979

 

1979
U.S. Navy Fleet Ballistic Missile Trident I (C4) containing the Draper-designed MK5 guidance system was deployed aboard submarines.

1981

 

1981 Shuttle Launch
The first launch of a NASA Space Shuttle occurred with a Draper-designed guidance, navigation and control system and backup flight system. Draper later upgraded the system for mission needs (e.g., Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission in 1993).

1983

1983
The first test flight occurred of the U.S. Air Force MX Missile, later deployed as Peacekeeper, with a Draper-designed Advanced Inertial Reference Sphere as the inertial measurement unit in the guidance system.

 

 

1984

The first kinetic kill intercept of a mock ICBM reentry vehicle occurred in exoatmosphere. Draper Lab, which had provided independent analysis to the government throughout the program, led a review committee for the Homing Overlay Experiment program before this test flight.

1986

As a key member of the Delta-180 team, Draper Laboratory analyzed navigation, sensor filtering, guidance design, and software that enabled demonstration of the first kinetic energy intercept of a ballistic missile during its boost phase.

1987

1987
Draper was the first to measure angular rate with a silicon Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) double-gimbal gyro, a MEMS Foucault gyroscope.

 

 

1988

 

1988 coin
The Charles Stark Draper Prize was established in memory of Draper’s founder by the National Academy of Engineering to increase public awareness of the contributions of engineering to society’s wellbeing.

1990

 

1990-1
The first of two Draper-designed Unmanned Undersea Vehicles began at-sea testing for DARPA. These autonomous testbeds were designed around Draper’s fault-tolerant processor and vehicle control architecture and were used to test mission packages.
1990-2
The U.S. Navy Trident II (D5) Fleet Ballistic Missile was deployed with the Draper-designed MK6 guidance system. The MK6 had been flight tested successfully aboard a Trident II missile in 1987.

1992

1992
Draper demonstrated the first micromachined silicon tuning-fork gyroscope, with noise of 500 degrees/hour per square root Hertz. This success stimulated research that led to military and commercial applications.

 

 

1993

 

1993
The navigation system for the USS Dolphin, a deep-diving U.S. Navy research and development submarine, was delivered. Draper later upgraded the system.

1994

 

MCM
Draper Multichip Modules (MCMs) were first delivered; Draper began its work on MCMs in 1987, interested in the technology’s potential to miniaturize systems through more-compact packaging of integrated circuits.

 

1995

 

1995
The WM Keck Foundation awarded $4.5M to fund a three-year collaboration among Draper, MIT, and Mass. Eye & Ear Infirmary, establishing the Keck Neural Prosthesis Research Center. This became a cornerstone of Draper’s future biomedical engineering activity.
1995-3
The first docking of the Space Shuttle and the Russian Space Station Mir on June 29, 1995 successfully demonstrated work begun a year earlier by Draper to redesign the Shuttle’s on-orbit flight control system for that mission.

 

1996

1996-2
The first all-silicon sensor-based inertial measurement unit, designed by Draper, was gun-launched on the Extended-Range Guided Munitions Demonstration Program
1996 drop shipment
Under the Precision Guided Airdrop System (PGAS) program, a first-of-kind autonomous guidance, navigation and control capability for parafoils was demonstrated.
PGAS was able to navigate via an onboard combination of an inertial navigation system and GPS.
 

1997

 

1997-1
The first completely “fly-by-wire” fault-tolerant submarine control system for the U.S. Navy began sea trials on SSN21 Seawolf. Draper developed and built the fault-tolerant ship control computers and I/O units, and also developed the software for the operating system and redundancy management.

Draper delivered the tactical hardware and software of the Integrated Control and Display System for the Advanced SEAL Delivery System to the U.S. Navy.

1998

1998-2
The first prototype of a micromachined Differential Mobility Spectrometry (DMS) system was fabricated and tested. The scope of this work led to miniaturizing DMS technology. The effort was part of a collaboration with New Mexico State University.
1998-2
Draper upgrades to the on-orbit flight control system it developed for the Space Shuttle were utilized for the first International Space Station assembly flight. Draper-developed upgrades provided robust stability, improved control, and operational simplifications.
 

2001

 

2001
Draper reported on its work on the first artificial blood vessel network using MEMS technology at MicroTAS 2001 Conference.

 

2003

Draper began an expanded role as both the programs and systems integrator for the entire U.S. Navy Trident II (D5) Missile Guidance Program. It initiated the development of the MK6 MOD 1 Guidance System Life Extension Program, the first strategic missile guidance system employing solid-state gyros.

2004

Draper-designed software enabling autonomous collection of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance data via an unmanned undersea vehicle was demonstrated in ONR’s Maritime Reconnaissance Demonstration program.

2005

MCM technology at Draper completed its essential transition from a promising laboratory technique to an economically viable production. process. Key to this advance were the application of machine vision to laser-drilled via-hole alignment and the implementation of known-good-die testing after thinning.

2005
A belt-mounted Personal Navigation System demonstrated the ability to determine location without GPS using a MEMS inertial measurement unit and a miniature Doppler velocity sensor, both developed by Draper.
 

 

2006

Draper received its first grant as a principal investigator from the National Institutes of Health, for the Bioengineering Research Partnership for Intracochlear Drug Delivery with Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. 

 

The integrated Ultrahigh Density (iUHD) platform concept was introduced. This packaging process exploits commercial semiconductor process equipment to create 3D stacked systems that are customizable and compatible with multiple materials and substrates.

 

The Joint Precision Airdrop Mission Planner was rapidly deployed in Afghanistan, operating on laptops onboard Air Force cargo planes. The mission planning software determines release points for dropping cargo, via either unguided parachutes or guided airdrop systems, for precision landing.

2006
Draper demonstrated on orbit the Zero Propellant Maneuver capability it designed to conduct large-angle maneuvers of the International Space Station without the use of its thrusters. This reduced the number of fuel resupply missions.
2006-2
The Draper-designed Inertial Stellar Compass became fully operational onboard the TacSat-2 spacecraft–the first use of a MEMS gyro in space as part of a stellar package for spacecraft attitude determination.
 

2009

To measure volatile organic compound levels in cabin air, microAnalyzers incorporating Differential Mobility Spectrometry and programmable compact gas chromatography were installed onboard the International Space Station. Enhanced microAnalyzers went into service on ISS in 2013.

2009
Draper received its first externally funded energy project, from Progress Energy, to develop a prototype, automated system that measures combustion efficiency of coal power plants.
 

 

2010

2010-2
Draper received the Collier Prize as part of the International Space Station Team, sharing the award with NASA and other industry partners.

2010-3
Draper iUHD modules were first delivered. 
2010-2
Draper was inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame for developing aircraft digital fly-by-wire flight control technology in collaboration with the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center.

 

2011

Draper delivered fault-tolerant computer design and control software along with guidance, navigation, and targeting software for Commercial Cargo Demonstration to the International Space Station.

 

2011-3
Draper’s guided parafoil guidance, navigation, and control software was deployed in Afghanistan on the Joint Precision Airdrop System. The Draper flight software is now supplied as government-furnished equipment for new precision guided airdrop systems of all weight classes.

 

 

atomic clock
A commercial version of the chip-scale atomic clock reached market, based on a project for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that produced the world’s smallest and lowest power atomic clock. Draper provided the physics package.

2012

2012-1
The Draper-developed Guidance Embedded Navigator Integration Environment (GENIE) performed its first free flight on Terrestrial Test Rocket. This testbed will enable terrestrial testing of space payloads.
2012-2
The first flight test of the Draper-designed MK6 MOD 1 guidance system for the Navy’s Trident missile occurred; the upgrade replaced all the sensors and electronics and rearchitected the system.

2013

 

CYGNUS
Cygnus flew autonomously to the International Space Station (ISS) and performed rendezvous and berthing for the first time. Draper developed Cygnus’s guidance, navigation and targeting algorithms and flight software and its Fault-tolerant Flight Computer Network Element and software—also used for cargo resupply services missions to ISS starting in 2014.

2014

Designed for use when GPS is not available, Draper’s advanced celestial navigation technology was demonstrated on a NASA DC-8 aircraft. It was demonstrated at sea for the first time aboard a ship in 2018.

2015

Self-guided 50-caliber bullet
A successful live-fire test demonstrated a self-guided 50-caliber bullet. Draper wrote the guidance-and-control software for the bullet and for the optical sighting system for use during both day and night.

2016

Trident II missile
Deployment began of the Draper-designed MARK 6 MOD 1 guidance system for the Trident II (D5) missile to the U.S. Navy submarine fleet. Draper is prime contractor for design, development,  production, and deployed system support for this guidance system.

2017

During DoD Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) Flight Experiment-1, a hypersonic glide body using Draper-designed avionics and flight software navigated precisely to target during its inaugural flight test. This demonstrates an accurate hypersonic long-range precision-strike capability for the first time.

2019
The Orion Ascent Abort-2 (AA2) flight test of the Launch Abort System was successful. Draper was part of the team that designed, integrated, verified and operated the AA2 guidance, navigation and control system as part of NASA’s Artemis program.
2019-2
Using microphysiological systems technology developed in collaboration by Draper and Pfizer Inc., the companies’ joint teams developed vascular, liver and colon/ileum organ model systems over three years, delivered in 2019, to enhance preclinical drug safety and efficacy testing.

LiDAR with MEMS
Three years after contracting to develop its photonic beam-steering technology for automotive applications Draper successfully demonstrated a proof-of-concept LiDAR with its hybrid integrated photonics and MEMS technology.

2020

Seawolf submarine ship control Enhanced CPU (ECPU) modules, developed and delivered by Draper, entered service on U.S. Navy submarines. These modules, which replace the original CPU modules in the Draper-supplied 1990s ship control computer, double the fault-tolerant computing capacity to support additional mission capability and software functions.

2021

PREDICT96-ALI
Draper demonstrated the first SARS-CoV-2 infection and viral replication using a wildtype virus in a human tissue lung-on-a-chip. The experiments were conducted using Draper’s PREDICT96-ALI (airway-liquid interface) platform and organ model.

 

WebTAK
Draper-developed WebTAK system provided web-based situational awareness for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency during the presidential inauguration. WebTAK is part of the Tactical Assault Kit (TAK) ecosystem, including ATAK and WinTAK, both of which Draper works with. On the original ATAK development team, Draper contributed to initial design and core software.

 

2022

Bioprocessing modules
Draper delivered preclinical units of three bioprocessing modules – acoustic separation, electroporation and viral transduction – to Kite Therapeutics (a Gilead company) to improve Kite’s CAR-T manufacturing process.