Focal points: Two satellites designed at MIT — A radar calibration sphere and a communications satellite — Have been launched

Though somewhat overshadowed by larger and more glamorous “scientific” satellites and recent Gemini missions, two satellites of special interest to engineers were launched on May 6 from Cape Kennedy. One was designed to serve as a primary standard for the accurate calibration of large tracking and measurements radar systems, and the other as a test bed for realistic evaluation of advanced techniques for military communication satellites. Both satellites were designed by the M.I.T. Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, Mass.