The Complete Book of Spaceflight: From Apollo 1 to Zero Gravity

National Space Institute (NSI)
An organization founded by officers of the National
Space Club to maintain public support for the U.S. space
program; its first president was Wernher von Braun. The
NSI was initially incorporated as the National Space
Association in June 1974, but was renamed in April 1975.
In April 1987, the NSI merged with the L5 Society to form
the National Space Society.
National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC)
A department of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center,
founded in 1966, that is the repository for data from
American space missions, including images from planetary
probes.
National Space Society (NSS)
A prospace group formed in 1987 as a result of a merger
between the National Space Institute and the L5 Society.
Based in Washington, D.C., it has an extensive network
of local chapters. The NSS supports a general
agenda of space development and human space presence,
sponsors a major annual space development conference,
and publishes the bimonthly magazine Ad Astra. It is
associated with the political lobbying organizations
Spacecause and Spacepac.
NATO (satellites)
A series of military communications satellites, encrypted
for use by NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
and designed to link the capital cities of NATO countries.
NATO-1 and -2 were launched in 1970 and 1971, respectively,
and four of the much larger NATO-3 satellites
between 1976 and 1984. Each NATO-3 could support
hundreds of users and provide voice and facsimile services
in UHF- (ultra-high frequency), X-, and C-bands.
Two NATO-4 satellites, which operate in the same bands
but have still more channels, were launched in 1991 and
1993.
Nauka
Scientific subsatellites carried aboard Zenit reconnaissance
satellites. From the outset, Zenits carried small supplemental
science packages—for example, for making
measurements of meteoroids or cosmic rays. But the first
Nauka (“science”) autonomous subsatellite was flown in
1968 aboard Zenit number 80. The Nauka containers
served a dual purpose. Mounted on the forward end of the
Zenit’s reentry sphere, they provided ballast during the primary
spacecraft’s mission. When the Zenit had completed
its work, the Nauka would be released. Over 40 Naukas
were installed on Zenit-2 and Zenit-2M satellites from
1968 to 1979 and used to study Earth’s radiation belts, collect
data on the Earth-space interface, and develop and test
NEAP (Near-Earth Asteroid Prospector) 293
new instruments. Twenty-three autonomous Nauka subsatellites
undertook research in geophysics, meteorology,
and cosmic rays; others tested new systems for the Yantar
reconnaissance satellite.
Navaho
One of three strategic surface-to-surface cruise missiles
developed by the United States immediately after World
War II, the others being the Matador and the Snark.
Built by the Glenn L. Martin Company, the Navaho had
a gross weight of 5,400 kg and the ability to carry a
nuclear warhead. However, its limited range of only
1,050 km meant that in order to strike at the Soviet
Union it had to be forward-based in areas such as Japan
and Germany. The Navaho became operational in 1955
and in the early 1960s was replaced by the Mace missile,
which had a longer range, greater speed, and superior
accuracy. Although the Navaho program was canceled in
1957, it significantly influenced the development of large
liquid-propellant rocket engine technology in the United
States. From the Navaho were derived the engines for the
Redstone, Thor, Jupiter, Atlas, Titan I, and Saturn I
rockets. The Navaho program also led to fuel tank fabrication
techniques, inertial and stellar navigation, and
other technologies used in later vehicles. See guided missiles,
postwar development.
navigational satellites
Spacecraft that are designed to assist in air, land, and
oceanic navigation. They include satellites such as
GLONASS, GPS (Global Positioning System), and
Transit.
Navsat (Naval Navigation Satellite)
See Transit.
Navstar-GPS (Navigation Satellite Time and
Ranging Global Positioning System)
See GPS.
NEAP (Near-Earth Asteroid Prospector)
A private venture to send a small spacecraft to an asteroid.
NEAP, which would be the first commercial deepspace
mission, is being developed by SpaceDev, a
Colorado-based company, together with scientists from
the University of California, San Diego, and other academic
institutions. First conceived in 1997 as a 350-kg
minisatellite to be launched on a Russian Eurokot, this
low-cost mission has evolved to a 200-kg microsatellite to
be launched as a secondary payload on an Ariane 5 in
2002–2005. Although plans have still to be finalized, the
proposed target is the near-Earth asteroid Nereus.