HRL Laboratories - Notable Accomplishments

Notable Accomplishments

• The first working model of the laser was created at Hughes Research Laboratories in 1960 by Theodore Maiman (1927–2007).
• HRL began research on atomic clocks in 1959. In the late 1970s they produced experimental maser oscillators for NRL, which eventually led to space-based GPS atomic clocks.
• HRL began research on ion propulsion in 1961. This research led to the Hughes developed xenon ion propulsion system (XIPSTM). XIPS was used as the primary propulsion system on NASA's Deep Space 1 (launched in 1998). It is a standard option for primary stationkeeping on the Hughes/Boeing 601HP (first use: PAS-5, 1997) and the 702 (first use: Galaxy-XI, 1999) geostationary satellite families.
• HRL claims to have developed the liquid crystal watch in 1975.
• HRL developed the metallic microlattice, the world's lightest material, in 2011