Sperry Model 10 Velocimeter, Doppler radar at Wallops Island with trackers P.R. Mears and J. Quillen. Metallic ears pointed to the heavens, this radio tracking device kept tabs on Wallops rocket firings. Joseph Shortal has described this Doppler radar as follows: "The Doppler radar was a genuine asset to PARD; it made possible the direct determination of velocity and allowed the measurement of drag for such simple models as the RM-2 and RM-5 types. Doppler radars were used in every launching from Wallops." "In cooperation with the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground, specifications for a more powerful Doppler radar were prepared. A 150-watt radar which its manufacturer, Sperry Gyroscope Corp., called the Model 10 Velocimeter, was purchased. This radar was mounted on a SCR-547 trailer, which led Langley men to call it the TPS-547 radar for some time. This radar had a range of approximately five miles and was the first of a series of this type in use at Wallops for many years." "One operator directed the dishes toward the target in azimuth while the other operator controlled the elevation (The fact that two operators with independent gun sights and earphones could coordinate their efforts in this fashion surprised many "experts".). The Doppler radars were always located near the launcher and the operators normally served in the dual capacity of rocket technicians. After the Velocimeter was placed in operation, the TPS-5 radars were no longer used." Photograph published in Winds of Change, a 75th Anniversary NASA publication (page 74), by James Schultz. Published in Joseph A. Shortal, History of Wallops Station: Origins and Activities Through 1949, (Wallops Island, VA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Wallops Station, nd), Comment Edition. Photograph published in A New Dimension; Wallops Island Flight Test Range: The First Fifteen Years by Joseph Adams Shortal. A NASA publication (page 99).
