Draper Laboratory

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/draper-laboratory

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Draper Laboratory built?1916 as the Instrumentation Laboratory at MIT
2. What is Draper Laboratory known for?Development of inertial navigation systems for strategic applications
3. What is the headquarters?Cambridge, Massachusetts
4. What is the core expertise?Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) systems
5. How did Draper help the Apollo moon missions?Draper designed the Apollo Guidance Computer, a tiny digital computer that guided astronauts to the moon and back. It used early integrated circuits and was very reliable.
6. Why are inertial navigation systems important for submarines?They let submarines know where they are and how they are moving without needing GPS, which works only on the surface. This keeps submarines safe and hidden underwater.

Inertial Navigation System (INS): A self-contained navigation system that uses accelerometers and gyroscopes to track motion and orientation without external references.
Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC): The integrated engineering discipline responsible for directing the motion of vehicles and systems to achieve mission objectives.
Sensor Fusion: The process of combining data from multiple sensors to produce more accurate, complete, and reliable information than any single sensor could provide.
Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC): The onboard digital computer used in NASA's Apollo spacecraft, developed by Draper Laboratory.