Space Dynamics Laboratory photographs, 1964-1980

Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) is a nonprofit government contractor owned by Utah State University. SDL is the sole University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) for the United States Missile Defense Agency, and is one of 15 UARCs in the nation for the United States Department of Defense. Together with Utah State University, SDL has completed over 420 successful space missions and deployed over 500 independent hardware and software systems into space.

SDL traces its origins to the earliest US space experiments using German V-2 rockets at the end of World War II. These experiments, which measured electron density in the upper atmosphere, led to the formation of the Upper Air Research Laboratory (UARL) at the University of Utah in 1948 and the Electro-Dynamics Laboratories (EDL) at Utah State University in 1959. The two laboratories frequently collaborated, and in 1970, UARL relocated to Utah State University. In 1982, the laboratories merged to form the Space Dynamics Laboratory.

Source: USU/SDL