Preparing for the Unthinkable: The U.S. Navy, SLBMS, and the TRANSIT Satellites

In April 1960 the US Navy launched the first experimental navigation satellite.  This highly classified and cutting-edge technology found in the TRANSIT satellites were designed to provide the Navy’s submarines armed with the new POLARIS ballistic missile with more precise navigation fixes as a means to improve their accuracy, if and when they had to launch their missiles against the Soviet Union.  Though useful for the U.S. Navy, President Lyndon Baines Johnson also found a civilian application. Thus, our routine use of GPS today in 2025 is result of this innovative technology during the Cold War.

Dr. Sean N. Kalic is a Cold War historian. He lectures and publishes widely on topics such as U.S. space policy, the Cold War, the post-Cold War security environment, and transnational terrorism. Prior to CGSC, he taught at Youngstown State University, Kansas State University, and Norwich University. He has presented lectures for the U.S. Navy War College’s Fleet Seminar Program, The Slovenian General Staff, The Slovenian Command and General Staff College, The U.S. Army’s Futures Command, as well as numerous international conferences. He has taught in the Department of Military History at the US Army Command and General Staff College since 2004.

The Ft. Leavenworth Series is an annual roster of lectures focusing on significant historical events, usually with an emphasis on military history. Each lecture is presented by faculty from the United States Army Command and General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. Established by General William Tecumseh Sherman in 1881, the CGSC is the graduate college for U.S. Army and sister service officers. The esteemed faculty and guests of the CGSC provide unique and captivating insights into the history of military conflict from the ancient to the modern ages at the Dole Institute of Politics.

The opinions expressed herein are those of the individual and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency.