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The Navy's 195 kg DODGE (Department Of Defense Gravity Experiment) satellite had the primary mission to explore gravity gradient stabilisation at near synchronous altitude. It was launched successfully from Cape Kennedy on July 1, 1967, aboard a Titan III-C rocket. DODGE carried ten booms that were radio commanded to extend or retract along 3 different axes. Data from in-orbit experiments provided fundamental constants for use in controlling future high-altitude spacecraft. DODGE also carries a number of commandable magnetic damping devices and two television cameras to determine satellite alignment. One of the cameras also provided the first colour pictures of the full Earth. One month after launch the satellite had been successfully stabilised and the television cameras were working as expected. Prime Contractor was the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory,

Total Mass: 102 kg.

Gravity gradient experiments. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A).

• 2 - McDowell, Jonathan, The United Nations Registry of Space Objects, Harvard University, 1997. HTML when accessed: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/QEDT/jcm/space/un/un.html
• 6 - JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. HTML when accessed: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html
• 405 - Aerospace Yearbook, 1966, .