Charles Stark Draper Laboratory - History

History

Draper’s roots date to the 1930s when Dr. Charles Stark Draper created a teaching laboratory at MIT to develop the instrumentation needed to make precise measurements of angular and linear motion. During World War II, Draper’s lab was known as the “Confidential Instrument Development Laboratory” (CID). Later, the name was changed to the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory. The Laboratory was renamed for its founder in 1970 and remained a part of MIT until 1973 when it became an independent, not-for-profit research and development corporation.

A primary focus of Draper’s efforts throughout its history has been the development and early application of advanced guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) technologies to meet the U.S. Department of Defense’s and NASA’s needs. The Laboratory’s achievements includes the design and development of the world’s most accurate and reliable guidance systems for undersea-launched ballistic missiles as well as the highly precise, ultra-reliable GN&C systems needed to guide the Apollo astronauts to the Moon and back safely to Earth. Draper’s work has contributed substantially to the development of today’s complement of precise inertial sensors, software, and ultra-reliable systems critical for precision GN&C of commercial and military aircraft, submarines, strategic and tactical missiles, spacecraft, and unmanned vehicles.