Satellites are getting more sophisticated. The first few tumbled any which way through space; now they are expected to perform all sorts of complicated maneuvers. The Air Force's Discoverer II, whose re-entry capsule came to earth embarrassingly close to northern Russia last week (see NATIONAL AFFAIRS), was as full of busy gadgets as a watch is full of works. The main purpose of its gadgetry was the seemingly simple task of keeping the satellite horizontal in relation to the surface of the earth below a necessary step toward effective photographic reconnaissance.
Its heart...
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