1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 1: Get in touch with technology with tech Stuff from house 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 3 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,320 Speaker 1: I'm Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer and I love 4 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:20,160 Speaker 1: all things tech. And this is the second part in 5 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:23,639 Speaker 1: my series about DARPA, the R and D arm of 6 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:26,760 Speaker 1: the Department of Defense. If you have not listened to 7 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:29,680 Speaker 1: the previous episode, I would recommend you go back and 8 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 1: listen to that one first to hear about the founding 9 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:35,879 Speaker 1: of the agency and its first few projects, including the 10 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: world's first spy satellite, before you come on over to 11 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: this one now. I mentioned in the last episode that 12 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:46,199 Speaker 1: there were tons of projects and historical events all happening 13 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:49,280 Speaker 1: around the formation of ARPA, which was of course the 14 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 1: original name for DARPA, and that meant I had to 15 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: pick and choose which ones to talk about and follow 16 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 1: those lines of logic. One of the ones I skipped 17 00:00:57,720 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: over is one I want to look at before I 18 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 1: move on in the timeline of the agency, and the 19 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: project would involve exploding nuclear warheads high above the earth 20 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: in an effort to create what would amount to a 21 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:13,119 Speaker 1: force field of sorts in order to protect the United 22 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: States from an incoming nuclear strike. This project was based 23 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: off the work of a physicist named Nick Christophilis, and 24 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 1: he had come up with a hypothesis. He believed that 25 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:29,800 Speaker 1: the high energy electrons produced in a nuclear explosion could, 26 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: if it happened in Earth's magnetosphere, produce a lasting effect 27 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: akin to what we now think of as an electromagnetic 28 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:42,479 Speaker 1: pulse or e m P. These powerful blasts of electromagnetic 29 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: energy can overwhelm electronic systems and cause them to fail 30 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 1: or even to burn out entirely. And it's the sort 31 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: of thing that might happen in the event of solar 32 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 1: storms or, as it turns out, the explosion of a 33 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: nuclear device. Christophilos believed that the magnetosphere would sustain the 34 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: high energy electrons, and anything relying upon electronics that would 35 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 1: try to pass through that barrier would end up failing, 36 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: including the arming and firing mechanisms on Soviet I CBM, 37 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:15,079 Speaker 1: so they would just become ballistics. They wouldn't they wouldn't explode, 38 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 1: they would be inert because the the firing mechanism would 39 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: never deploy. A full scale deployment of this approach would 40 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,239 Speaker 1: require firing hundreds or even thousands of nuclear warheads into 41 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 1: high altitudes, and they theorized that the the high energy 42 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:39,240 Speaker 1: electrons could last for months in the magnetosphere. Christophilis was 43 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:43,079 Speaker 1: an interesting character. He had been an elevator installer back 44 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,360 Speaker 1: in the late nineteen thirties. He worked in an elevator company. 45 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: It had its ups and downs, but in his spare 46 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:52,240 Speaker 1: time he was coming up with scientific hypotheses and inventing 47 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:58,119 Speaker 1: theoretical devices, you know, little inventions like particle accelerators. So 48 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,079 Speaker 1: while his idea sounded wild, Arbo was willing to give 49 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: it a shot because he had shown that he had 50 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: a keen understanding of nuclear physics from a self taught perspective, 51 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: which seemed pretty remarkable. The test would be called Operation Argus. 52 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: The US chose a spot in the South Atlantic Ocean, 53 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: essentially between the tip of Africa and the tip of 54 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 1: South America. It was about as remote from human civilization 55 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: as you could get without being in the Antarctic. And 56 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: this was an enormous endeavor. It wasn't like one launch pad. 57 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: We're talking four thousand five military personnel involved. On top 58 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 1: of that, you had scientists, you had engineers, were all 59 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,240 Speaker 1: part of the test. The first test happened on August 60 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty eight. Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, on that 61 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: same day, Ernest Lawrence, one of the strongest advocates for 62 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 1: nuclear weapons development and testing, passed away. Ernest Lawrence and 63 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: Edward Teller had been the gung ho proponents of building 64 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:08,800 Speaker 1: out a nuclear arsenal, including the hydrogen bomb and and 65 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:12,560 Speaker 1: bigger weapons beyond that. He had at the time been 66 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:16,360 Speaker 1: attending a conference dedicated to arriving at a global ban 67 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,920 Speaker 1: on nuclear weapons testing. This was essentially by order of 68 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:24,360 Speaker 1: the US government. President Eisenhower and Herb York, the scientific 69 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:28,120 Speaker 1: director over at ARPA, had given him this assignment. It 70 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:31,320 Speaker 1: was kind of ironic that they sent Lawrence there to 71 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 1: talk about a nuclear test band, considering his personal views 72 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:38,359 Speaker 1: on the subject, and that may have contributed to stress, 73 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:42,239 Speaker 1: which in turn may have contributed to his health deteriorating 74 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: and then ultimately his passing. The Argus tests, which consisted 75 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:50,120 Speaker 1: of three separate nuclear weapons fired in into the atmosphere 76 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: on three different occasions from late August into early September, 77 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:58,039 Speaker 1: were considered a failure. The explosions did not produce the 78 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:03,799 Speaker 1: effects Christophilos had did. The explosions did create high energy electrons, 79 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:07,039 Speaker 1: and they did exist a bit longer in the magnetosphere 80 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: than they might have otherwise, but not at the intensity 81 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: and duration that Christophilos had anticipated, not enough to be 82 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:19,839 Speaker 1: a force field protector against incoming I C b ms, 83 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:22,600 Speaker 1: So this defense was not going to pan out. There 84 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:25,200 Speaker 1: was some talk that perhaps the engineers and scientists could 85 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: figure out a way to make it work if they 86 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:30,160 Speaker 1: had more time to test, but with the approaching ban 87 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,160 Speaker 1: on nuclear testing coming, that would make the matter moot. 88 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:36,880 Speaker 1: The ban on nuclear testing would begin on October thirty one, 89 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: ninety eight. Edward Teller, the proponent of nuclear tests and 90 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:44,880 Speaker 1: friend to Ernest Lawrence, suggested that the United States keep 91 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: testing anyway, but if they were to keep those tests 92 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: to less than a kill a ton of force, they 93 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:53,359 Speaker 1: could probably do it and remain undetectable by all the 94 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 1: different powers in the world that were interested in monitoring 95 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:58,960 Speaker 1: such stuff. So he essentially said, if you want to 96 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:02,160 Speaker 1: do testing on the QT, just keep those explosions below 97 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:04,839 Speaker 1: one kill a ton of force. You can keep on 98 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:09,280 Speaker 1: changing up your designs and approaches to nuclear weaponry as 99 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: long as we don't make the boom too big, and 100 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:14,479 Speaker 1: then no one will ever be the wiser, and essentially 101 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:17,160 Speaker 1: Teller said, whether we choose to do this or not, 102 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:19,280 Speaker 1: you can bet the Soviets are going to be doing it. 103 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:23,359 Speaker 1: Tell her was very much of that kind of opinion 104 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: of the Soviet Union for all of his life. Now, 105 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:28,279 Speaker 1: when I left off in the last episode, I was 106 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:32,720 Speaker 1: talking about the Corona Project, the aforementioned spy satellites that 107 00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:36,919 Speaker 1: had a public cover name called Discoverer. The nature of 108 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: the Corona project would remain classified until ninet so for 109 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 1: decades the American public was kept ignorant of what Discoverer 110 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:47,160 Speaker 1: satellites were actually doing up in space, which was taking 111 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,279 Speaker 1: photos mostly of the Soviet Union. By the time the 112 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:54,240 Speaker 1: Corona Project was a success, DARPA had a new director. 113 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,720 Speaker 1: The original director, Roy W. Johnson, resigned in nineteen fifty 114 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:01,040 Speaker 1: nine after much of our was work in the missile 115 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: program got undermined and handed back over to the various 116 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:08,000 Speaker 1: Armed services branches. The morale at ARPA was shaken as 117 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:12,000 Speaker 1: a result. People working in ARPA had the goal of 118 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 1: advancing technology and military applications, and they were starting to 119 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:18,320 Speaker 1: feel like their work was being tossed aside or dismissed. Now, 120 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 1: originally Johnson's replacement was going to be a guy named 121 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: Charles Critchfield. Critchfield was a nuclear physicist who had worked 122 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:29,240 Speaker 1: on the Manhattan Project. In nine he was working for 123 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:33,240 Speaker 1: Convey in their General Dynamics department and he received the 124 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 1: request to come be the director of ARPA. But he 125 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 1: had a really good paying gig over at Convey. So 126 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 1: originally he was saying, I'll do it as long as 127 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: I can keep my position at Convey, and then I'll 128 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 1: just recuse myself from any project that Convey might be 129 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: part of to avoid the appearance of favoritism. But the 130 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 1: press pushed against that notion, asking how would he be 131 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 1: able to stay objective considering what looked like a really 132 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 1: serious conflict of intra So he withdrew himself from consideration. 133 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:06,559 Speaker 1: Herbert York was given the task to find someone else, 134 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:08,920 Speaker 1: and so he looked at the office of the Secretary 135 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 1: of Defense, and there he found General Austin Betts, who 136 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 1: was the deputy to the Director of Guided Missiles. York 137 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: also warned Bets that ARPA was the target of opposition 138 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 1: from pretty much every branch of the military. Bets understood, 139 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:26,080 Speaker 1: and he went about doing his best to mollify the 140 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:29,880 Speaker 1: concerns and the objections of military brass while letting the 141 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 1: administrators at ARPA continue their work as best he could. 142 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:36,440 Speaker 1: Bets gets a lot of credit for stabilizing ARPA in 143 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:39,599 Speaker 1: the wake of Johnson's departure. He also worked with the 144 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:42,720 Speaker 1: branches of the Armed forces to recognize ARPA's place in 145 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:45,840 Speaker 1: the overall strategy for the United States. According to Bets, 146 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 1: military officials would look at ARPA with some level of 147 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:51,480 Speaker 1: resentment because they believe that the money that was going 148 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 1: to ARPA could have been better spent in those respective 149 00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:59,880 Speaker 1: military branches. Essentially, they're taking our money. Bets did his 150 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:02,360 Speaker 1: best to convince them that ARPA's R and D focus 151 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:04,920 Speaker 1: would be a benefit to the branches in the long run, 152 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,200 Speaker 1: and it was not intended to be a competing agency. 153 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:11,200 Speaker 1: I'll have more to say about DARPA's early days in 154 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 1: just a moment, but first let's take a quick break 155 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:24,959 Speaker 1: to thank our sponsor. In nineteen sixty, ARPA announced the 156 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:30,040 Speaker 1: launch of an interdisciplinary Laboratory or IDEL program. The purpose 157 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:33,000 Speaker 1: of this program was to advance materials science, which is 158 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:36,520 Speaker 1: the study of the properties of matter and potential applications, 159 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:40,040 Speaker 1: which again largely had to do with defense. The agency 160 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: awarded three contracts that year, each contract lasting four years, 161 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:47,160 Speaker 1: and they all had renewable clauses attached to them. The 162 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:51,080 Speaker 1: three universities that won those first contracts were the University 163 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:56,199 Speaker 1: of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, and Northwestern University. The IDEL program 164 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:59,160 Speaker 1: would continue for twelve years. It would include more universities 165 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 1: over time, and then ARPA would transfer it to the 166 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 1: National Science Foundation, which subsequently changed the program's name to 167 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:11,280 Speaker 1: the Materials Research Laboratories Program. That program would fund exploratory 168 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 1: research in all sorts of materials, some of which would 169 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 1: end up playing an important role in making better tools 170 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:20,559 Speaker 1: and equipment for the military. Also in nineteen sixty, ARPA 171 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:24,439 Speaker 1: launched a navigation satellite, the first and what would eventually 172 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:28,760 Speaker 1: become a global navigation system. It was called Transit. The 173 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:31,040 Speaker 1: project grew out of R and D work from the 174 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 1: Johns Hopkins Universities Applied Physics Laboratory. The satellite had an 175 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:40,480 Speaker 1: accuracy down to tens of meters, which helped boost map 176 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:44,760 Speaker 1: accuracy considerably. Are BA administered the project until the mid 177 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: nineteen sixties, when it would transfer that system to the 178 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:52,720 Speaker 1: United States Navy Transit would ultimately consist of thirty six 179 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 1: satellites in orbit and would serve as the primary US 180 00:10:56,480 --> 00:11:00,760 Speaker 1: satellite based navigation system until nine, when it would be 181 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:04,680 Speaker 1: replaced by the Global Positioning System or GPS. Over the 182 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 1: first two years of ARPA's existence, the budget for its 183 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:11,559 Speaker 1: Defender program, also known as the Ballistics Missile Defense or 184 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:17,120 Speaker 1: BMD project, was about nine hundred million dollars from R 185 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:20,560 Speaker 1: and D to operations, so just under a billion dollars, 186 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:25,120 Speaker 1: an enormous amount of money now and back in nineteen 187 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:28,839 Speaker 1: fifty nine. Nineteen sixty would be a really big year 188 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:33,000 Speaker 1: of changes for DARPA, or again ARPA at the time. 189 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:36,400 Speaker 1: Herbert York, who was the first chief Scientist then he 190 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:40,199 Speaker 1: became Director of Defense Research and Engineering, would step down. 191 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:43,120 Speaker 1: John F. Kennedy became President of the United States, and 192 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:47,440 Speaker 1: as a result, as is frequently the case with administration changes, 193 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:51,439 Speaker 1: you started to see a house cleaning process where people 194 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:56,360 Speaker 1: who had been uh inhabiting certain positions and various agencies 195 00:11:56,559 --> 00:11:59,360 Speaker 1: are removed and new people are put in place. But 196 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:03,240 Speaker 1: for a short time, York was essentially the acting Secretary 197 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:07,840 Speaker 1: of Defense until Kennedy's pick, a guy named McNamara would 198 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,440 Speaker 1: make his way through confirmation hearings, so for a short while, 199 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 1: Herbert York was effectively in charge of the codes for 200 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:18,880 Speaker 1: nuclear weapons in the United States, like all of them. 201 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:21,480 Speaker 1: This was before the country had established the protocols around 202 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:25,319 Speaker 1: the so called nuclear football, so he was the head 203 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 1: man in charge of the nuclear weapons arsenal at that 204 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:31,560 Speaker 1: point for a few months or a few days really. 205 00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:37,680 Speaker 1: Kennedy was concerned about Communist insurgents in Southeast Asia, particularly 206 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: in Vietnam, so in response, he began to task officials 207 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 1: with coming up with counter insurgency strategies. ARPA would play 208 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:49,080 Speaker 1: a big role in that, particularly starting in nineteen sixty one. 209 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: I'll get back to that in a second, but first, 210 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:54,920 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty one, after spending just a little more 211 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:59,199 Speaker 1: than a year as the director of ARPA, General Betts resigned. 212 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:03,719 Speaker 1: His placement was a guy named Dr Jack p. Runa, 213 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:07,120 Speaker 1: an electrical engineer who was a professor in my t now. 214 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:10,440 Speaker 1: Runa was the first scientist to head up our PA 215 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:13,720 Speaker 1: from a director level. He would step down in nineteene, 216 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:16,160 Speaker 1: but in a short time as director he would oversee 217 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:20,080 Speaker 1: many important projects and developments, including the founding of the 218 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:23,320 Speaker 1: Information Processing Techniques Office or I p t O. More 219 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:28,440 Speaker 1: on that in our next episode. As part of Project Defender, 220 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:32,840 Speaker 1: ARPA would reach out to another young organization called Jason. 221 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:38,240 Speaker 1: Jason was a for profit scientific research group largely dedicated 222 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:42,079 Speaker 1: to tackling problems related to defense and military applications. Is 223 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:46,119 Speaker 1: named after the Greek hero Jason, and it was a secretive, 224 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:49,640 Speaker 1: exclusive group of some of the most talented scientists in 225 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:54,240 Speaker 1: the United States. Super duper hush hush, though, and these 226 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: scientists would get top level security clearance to various programs. 227 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:03,360 Speaker 1: Through Out its run, ARPA would ask Jason to pitch 228 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:08,360 Speaker 1: ideas that would improve the Defender missile defense program. One 229 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:11,040 Speaker 1: such proposal they came up with was to equip every 230 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:15,440 Speaker 1: US warhead with decoys to confound the Soviet Union's anti 231 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,840 Speaker 1: ballistic missile defense system. So in this case, there wasn't 232 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:21,960 Speaker 1: so much as defending against incoming missiles as to make 233 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:26,400 Speaker 1: our outgoing missiles more effective. Essentially, every warhead would deploy 234 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:29,520 Speaker 1: a decoy or more than one up to five to 235 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:32,720 Speaker 1: improve its chances of making it through the defenses of 236 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:36,720 Speaker 1: the USSR to detonate at its intended target. The strategy 237 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:40,640 Speaker 1: became known as Penetration AIDS or pen AIDS for short. 238 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:44,440 Speaker 1: This would later grow into another project called pen X, 239 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:48,760 Speaker 1: in which scientists work on creating multiple independently targeted reentry 240 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:53,320 Speaker 1: vehicles also known as merv's m I r vs. The 241 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:56,040 Speaker 1: Jason Group was being funded by ARPA, but it was 242 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:59,560 Speaker 1: so secretive and its work was so important to US 243 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:04,000 Speaker 1: defense that the scientists were able to put tough restrictions 244 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:09,200 Speaker 1: on ARPA's involvement with their work, like crazy restrictions. They 245 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:12,640 Speaker 1: demanded that they would be allowed to to work on 246 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:16,600 Speaker 1: their own solving whatever problems were assigned to them without 247 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 1: outside interference. And the only person from ARPA who was 248 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:23,920 Speaker 1: allowed to attend their summer sessions. And this was a 249 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 1: concession they made uh most of the members of JASON, 250 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:30,080 Speaker 1: by the way, we're teaching throughout most of the year, 251 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:32,520 Speaker 1: the summer was when they would have time off, and 252 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:34,520 Speaker 1: so they would dedicate that to working on these problems. 253 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 1: The only person from ARPA who could go to this 254 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:40,280 Speaker 1: summer session was the director himself, Jack Runo. No one 255 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:42,240 Speaker 1: else from MARPA would be allowed to hang out with 256 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:47,160 Speaker 1: the scientists, and eventually RUNA agreed to this because they 257 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 1: needed these guys. The Jason scientists also worked on on 258 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:56,360 Speaker 1: a super top secret project on directed energy beam weapons. 259 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:58,840 Speaker 1: So one of the important members of the Jason group 260 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 1: was a guy named Charles Towns. Charles Towns built the 261 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:07,240 Speaker 1: first maser that's the microwave based precursor of the laser, 262 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:10,200 Speaker 1: so the team wanted to explore the possibility of using 263 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: directed energy beams to send blasts at, say, an incoming missile, 264 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:18,480 Speaker 1: in order to disarm it. There have been numerous directed 265 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:22,880 Speaker 1: energy beam product projects at DARPA. Most of those remain classified, 266 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:25,240 Speaker 1: so we can only guess as to how far along 267 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:28,440 Speaker 1: they have come, although a lot of people will say 268 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:31,520 Speaker 1: that the technology being worked on at various projects that 269 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:34,920 Speaker 1: are funded by DARPA tends to be up to ten 270 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:38,320 Speaker 1: years ahead of the stuff you would see out in 271 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 1: the quote unquote real world, so that's something to think about. Meanwhile, 272 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:45,840 Speaker 1: in Hawaii, ARPA began a project called the ARPA mid 273 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:49,920 Speaker 1: Course Optical Station or AMOS A m o S in 274 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:53,400 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty one. This was an observatory that was meant 275 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: to detect, image, and take measurements of space objects like satellites, payloads, 276 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:01,800 Speaker 1: and other stuff like miss re entering the Airth's atmosphere. 277 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:05,440 Speaker 1: The facility is on top of a mountain in Maui, Hawaii. 278 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: It would take years to build this facility and the 279 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:10,959 Speaker 1: instruments needed to carry out the task, but it all 280 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:14,000 Speaker 1: started in nineteen sixty one. In nineteen sixty nine it 281 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:17,359 Speaker 1: was an established facility. It entered into its second phase 282 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:19,880 Speaker 1: of operation, in which would measure re entry bodies as 283 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:23,639 Speaker 1: part of the Advanced Ballistic re Entry System project. And 284 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:27,760 Speaker 1: in nineteen four DARPA. At that point the agency's name 285 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:30,159 Speaker 1: had changed kind of and it had changed back. In 286 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:32,639 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy two they would change back to ARPA and 287 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:35,879 Speaker 1: then back to DARPA again. We'll get there anyway. In 288 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,200 Speaker 1: ninety four, DARPA transferred the facility over to the US 289 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:41,879 Speaker 1: Air Force to become part of the Air Force Space 290 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 1: Tracking System. In ninety three, AMOS got a name change, 291 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:48,879 Speaker 1: at least the acronym has now changed. Now it stands 292 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:52,919 Speaker 1: for Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site. So remember 293 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:55,960 Speaker 1: when I talked about the counterinsurgency efforts that Kennedy was 294 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:59,119 Speaker 1: interested in. Well, in nineteen sixty one that took shape 295 00:17:59,119 --> 00:18:03,800 Speaker 1: as a huge initiative, probably the third biggest project DARPA 296 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:08,680 Speaker 1: was tackling behind Defender and Vila Villa being the project 297 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:13,800 Speaker 1: to to be able to detect nuclear weapons detonations. This 298 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:16,800 Speaker 1: project was called Agile and it was a joint effort 299 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:19,600 Speaker 1: between ARPA. There was a group of advisors called the 300 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:23,920 Speaker 1: Military Assistance Advisory Group or m a a G, and 301 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:28,879 Speaker 1: South Vietnam officials like the President of South Vietnam. The 302 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:32,240 Speaker 1: project would have to deal with an entirely different approach 303 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:35,760 Speaker 1: than the counterballistics work that ARPA had been involved with. 304 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:40,400 Speaker 1: This was a major switching of gears from missile warfare 305 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:43,840 Speaker 1: to how to get a technological advantage over enemy forces 306 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:47,720 Speaker 1: that were at home fighting in say, jungle environments. One 307 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:52,040 Speaker 1: of the champions project Agile was a guy named William Godal, 308 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:56,040 Speaker 1: and intelligence operative who worked with ARPA and who acted 309 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:59,879 Speaker 1: as sort of a liaison between various intelligence agencies and ARPA. 310 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 1: While many of the scientists at ARPA came from a 311 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:07,199 Speaker 1: perspective of advancing the US capabilities in nuclear warfare, Godal 312 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:09,120 Speaker 1: was looking at things from a different point of view. 313 00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:13,480 Speaker 1: He was interested in psychological warfare and the alleged brainwashing 314 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:16,920 Speaker 1: techniques used by communists in the fifties and early sixties, 315 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:19,800 Speaker 1: and he advocated for the creation of an ARPA branch 316 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:24,520 Speaker 1: in Southeast Asia. Kennedy agreed, and the agency established the 317 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:28,640 Speaker 1: ARPA Combat Development and Test Center. More on what they 318 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:31,600 Speaker 1: did in just a moment, but first another quick break 319 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:42,119 Speaker 1: to thank our sponsor. Godal wanted to develop techniques to 320 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:46,560 Speaker 1: teach the South Vietnamese military how to combat insurgents, preferably 321 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:48,919 Speaker 1: in a way that would not require the United States 322 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:52,280 Speaker 1: to get directly involved, and in that way, the United 323 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:55,719 Speaker 1: States could push back against the spread of Communism without 324 00:19:56,200 --> 00:20:00,399 Speaker 1: being on the ground in a war. So the thought 325 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:03,520 Speaker 1: was that Project Agile would develop not just technology, but 326 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 1: best practices for the South Vietnamese military to use to 327 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:10,000 Speaker 1: fight off the Viet Cong and the spread of communism. 328 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:13,320 Speaker 1: It was the most active ARPA would get in actual 329 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:18,320 Speaker 1: military operations. One of the many developments under Project Agile, 330 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:23,480 Speaker 1: which covered tons of different subprojects UH, and one of 331 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:25,640 Speaker 1: the most tragic. In fact, I would argue is probably 332 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:30,880 Speaker 1: the most tragic of the projects that Agile was focused on, 333 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:35,200 Speaker 1: was the development of the so called rainbow agents. These 334 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:39,399 Speaker 1: were chemical agents and they were meant to kill off vegetation. UH. 335 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,920 Speaker 1: They were herbicides. They were designed to remove jungle cover 336 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:46,000 Speaker 1: and also to take away any advantage insurgents might have 337 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 1: while engaging in guerrilla warfare and to affect food supply. 338 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:54,760 Speaker 1: Although Godal was largely looking at this as a way 339 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:58,240 Speaker 1: of taking away the jungle cover to remove that advantage 340 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:01,560 Speaker 1: that the viet Cong held. The most famous of these 341 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:05,639 Speaker 1: rainbow agents was, of course, agent Orange. Now agent orange 342 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:09,680 Speaker 1: is a mixture of two major herbicides, and it also 343 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:14,000 Speaker 1: happens to be incredibly toxic to human beings. The President 344 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,960 Speaker 1: of Vietnam, President d M, wanted to use herbicide in 345 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:23,639 Speaker 1: large regions which would affect both insurgents and innocent Vietnamese citizens. 346 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:27,119 Speaker 1: They are beside would affect jungles and food crops, including 347 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:29,880 Speaker 1: food crops just grown by innocent people, not people who 348 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:33,520 Speaker 1: were feeding the viet Cong. D M's goal was to 349 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:37,480 Speaker 1: make the viet Cong, those those communists insurgents, dependent upon 350 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:40,600 Speaker 1: the South Vietnamese government for food and that would force 351 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:44,239 Speaker 1: them to obey him. So he took this tool that 352 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:47,480 Speaker 1: ARPA had created, this herbicide, and he put to use 353 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:51,680 Speaker 1: in a wide area, affecting thousands of people. Agent orange 354 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:55,280 Speaker 1: can damage genes and it can lead to birth defects 355 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:59,479 Speaker 1: and offspring. It can lead to higher instances of cancer 356 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:01,520 Speaker 1: to people have been exposed to it. It's one of 357 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:04,719 Speaker 1: the most terrible weapons created by the United States and 358 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:08,600 Speaker 1: actually put to use in warfare. I also think it's 359 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:12,639 Speaker 1: an example of some of the mental gymnastics that William 360 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:15,320 Speaker 1: Goldal was able to go through to justify the existence 361 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:20,000 Speaker 1: of this program. To begin with, the Geneva Convention expressly forbids, 362 00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:25,200 Speaker 1: chemical and biological weapons, and if you use them, you're 363 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,160 Speaker 1: going to be the target of the international communities scorn 364 00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:31,720 Speaker 1: and worse, and the United States did not want to 365 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:36,320 Speaker 1: to court that scorn. But destroying an enemy's food supply 366 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:39,760 Speaker 1: is not against the Geneva Convention. You can do that 367 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:43,520 Speaker 1: and it's quote unquote fair. The rules of what is 368 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:48,879 Speaker 1: and isn't fair and warfare still kind of perplex me. 369 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:52,800 Speaker 1: It's a weird thing to think about that something that 370 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,080 Speaker 1: is terrible to people in one way is not against 371 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,080 Speaker 1: the rules, and something that's terrible to people in a 372 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:02,000 Speaker 1: different way is against the rules. Blows my mind anyway. 373 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:05,280 Speaker 1: Framing this project as targeting not the people but their 374 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:09,800 Speaker 1: food and the jungle itself wasn't against the Geneva Convention, 375 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:12,720 Speaker 1: at least not on the surface. However, since the chemicals 376 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: were distributed by plane or helicopter, which meant they were 377 00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:20,600 Speaker 1: sprayed over large, often populated areas, I think it's kind 378 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:22,439 Speaker 1: of hard to say we were just aiming for the 379 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:24,919 Speaker 1: jungle and the food. We didn't mean to get the 380 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:29,080 Speaker 1: people to Despite all that, President Kennedy approved the use 381 00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:31,760 Speaker 1: of the Arab side, though admittedly he did cut the 382 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:35,280 Speaker 1: scope of the proposed use by a significant amount. Even so, 383 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:39,040 Speaker 1: by the end of the Vietnam War, about nineteen million 384 00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:43,159 Speaker 1: gallons of the stuff had been unleashed in Vietnam. The 385 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,080 Speaker 1: estimates on the number of Vietnamese directly exposed to the 386 00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:49,439 Speaker 1: chemicals range from two point one million people on the 387 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:53,240 Speaker 1: conservative side up to four point eight million people. It's 388 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:59,159 Speaker 1: truly horrifying stuff. Now. The documentation for Project Agile outlines 389 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:04,480 Speaker 1: eight sub project areas. There's tactical unit weapons systems, area 390 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:10,840 Speaker 1: fire weapons systems, remote area mobility and logistics systems, communication systems, 391 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:15,920 Speaker 1: combat surveillance and target acquisition systems, individual and special projects, 392 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:21,480 Speaker 1: technical planning and programming, and finally, research and exploratory development. 393 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:24,280 Speaker 1: The work in Project Agile would lead to stuff like 394 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:28,040 Speaker 1: flame throwers, and then the adoption of the M sixteen 395 00:24:28,359 --> 00:24:32,040 Speaker 1: as the infantry weapon of choice for US soldiers. The 396 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:36,000 Speaker 1: M sixteen was based off the cult A R fifteen, 397 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:39,040 Speaker 1: a style of rifle that today has a pretty horrific 398 00:24:39,119 --> 00:24:43,400 Speaker 1: reputation in various shooting incidents. The A R fifteen fires 399 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:47,520 Speaker 1: five five six ammunition five point five six millimeter ammunition. 400 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:52,160 Speaker 1: During Project Agile, the US military mostly was using the 401 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:56,320 Speaker 1: I fourteen rifle for its soldiers, uh the M fourteen 402 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 1: fires a heavy seven point six two millimeter ammunition seven 403 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:02,880 Speaker 1: six to The prevailing wisdom was that the five six 404 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:07,240 Speaker 1: mma would not pack the punch needed in US military operations. 405 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 1: Part of the Project Agile had ARPA scientists heading up 406 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:16,399 Speaker 1: projects to improve and test A R fifteen's to change 407 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:19,600 Speaker 1: them into a new type of light assault rifle so 408 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,960 Speaker 1: that the lighter weapon could replace this heavier M fourteen 409 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:27,119 Speaker 1: and it would be more useful to Vietnamese soldiers, who 410 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:31,879 Speaker 1: the group viewed as being smaller than American soldiers and 411 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:34,480 Speaker 1: therefore they would need lighter weapons. I'm not going to 412 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:36,520 Speaker 1: comment on that other than to say that that was 413 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:42,000 Speaker 1: there conclusion anyway that led to the M sixteen, which 414 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:44,600 Speaker 1: until fairly recently was the primary weapon of the U 415 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:47,119 Speaker 1: S military. It's since been largely replaced by the M 416 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:50,720 Speaker 1: four carbine, which is another five five six m O gun. Now, 417 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:53,399 Speaker 1: I'm going to spare you guys the language that's in 418 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:56,119 Speaker 1: the reports on the performance of the A R fifteen's 419 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:59,920 Speaker 1: that ARPA had issued to US Special Forces for lie 420 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:04,840 Speaker 1: field tests, meaning that soldiers were tearing this into actual 421 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:08,239 Speaker 1: combat scenarios. Suffice it to say that the weapons were 422 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,600 Speaker 1: found to be very effective, and the language makes that clear, 423 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:15,080 Speaker 1: and how deadly the weapons were in actual combat situations. 424 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:19,600 Speaker 1: It's really disturbing stuff. Actually, how casually these reports refer 425 00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:24,080 Speaker 1: to the lethality of the weapons. It's very matter of fact, 426 00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:27,840 Speaker 1: which I get, I suppose from a you know, observing 427 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:31,040 Speaker 1: and evaluing the performance of a tool. But when you 428 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:34,160 Speaker 1: realize that the execution of that tool is the literal 429 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:39,680 Speaker 1: end of someone's life, it's pretty sobering stuff. Other parts 430 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:43,600 Speaker 1: of Project Agile seemed fairly bizarre. For example, there was 431 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:47,439 Speaker 1: a canine program that was part of Project Agile. In 432 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:51,720 Speaker 1: this program, are But proposed developing a chemical scent that 433 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:55,399 Speaker 1: dogs could detect but humans could not. And the idea 434 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:59,120 Speaker 1: was that Viennamese soldiers could quietly and secretly mark large 435 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:01,399 Speaker 1: groups of people with a chemical or maybe even have 436 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,520 Speaker 1: an aircraft pass overhead and spray it out. The chemical 437 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:08,480 Speaker 1: would be harmless, but it would be detectable by these canines, 438 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:12,080 Speaker 1: and then Vietnamese soldiers could use dogs to track people 439 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:15,359 Speaker 1: who turned up in suspicious places. As a result, AREPA 440 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:19,040 Speaker 1: tested a chemical they called Squalingens, was made from shark 441 00:27:19,119 --> 00:27:23,040 Speaker 1: and fish liver oil. Uh The tests proved promising when 442 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:25,960 Speaker 1: they were conducted over at Fort Benning, Georgia, not too 443 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:28,560 Speaker 1: far from where I am. But then they took it 444 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:31,480 Speaker 1: over to Vietnam and discovered that the dogs would not 445 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:33,480 Speaker 1: be able to follow the scent for very long in 446 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:37,760 Speaker 1: the hotter, more humid environments. Are But also developed a 447 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:42,280 Speaker 1: quiet power glider meant to fly just over the jungle 448 00:27:42,359 --> 00:27:47,600 Speaker 1: canopy silently or near silently over in Vietnam. Rather, of course, 449 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:51,800 Speaker 1: are But did not developed this itself. It funded the 450 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,760 Speaker 1: development of this. They first reached out to the Navy 451 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:59,240 Speaker 1: and got two unpowered SGS two thirty two gliders. Those 452 00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:02,480 Speaker 1: were made by a being called the Schweitzer Aircraft Corporation. 453 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:06,640 Speaker 1: AREPA then handed those over to the company Lockeed, which 454 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:10,159 Speaker 1: used its skunk Works Special Projects division. Skunk Works is 455 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:13,960 Speaker 1: where all the super top secret work at Lockheed happens, 456 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:17,840 Speaker 1: and Lockheed would install Volkswagen air cooled engines in the 457 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:21,560 Speaker 1: gliders that would connect to the propellers. The aircraft ran 458 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:24,480 Speaker 1: pretty quietly, though not as quietly as the Army would like. 459 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:26,960 Speaker 1: They eventually would send the gliders back to Lockheed to 460 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,440 Speaker 1: make some changes. Now. At one point there was talk 461 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:34,000 Speaker 1: of experimenting with radar absorbing paint to reduce the radar 462 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:36,920 Speaker 1: signature of these gliders, but the team ultimately decided that 463 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:40,120 Speaker 1: that was beyond the scope of their project. The gliders 464 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:43,040 Speaker 1: were in limited use during Vietnam, but more importantly, they 465 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:47,560 Speaker 1: led to the development of other spy plane technology, stealth technology, 466 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:53,080 Speaker 1: and unmanned drones. Project Agile also included calls for new 467 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:58,800 Speaker 1: types of shotguns, new rifle grenades, uh sound cannons, cannons 468 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:04,040 Speaker 1: that would actually use sound waves as a shock deliverer, 469 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:07,040 Speaker 1: and bombs that could detonate between the top of a 470 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:11,200 Speaker 1: jungle canopy and the ground below. And besides weapons, the 471 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:14,400 Speaker 1: agency was funding research and stuff like anti venom kits 472 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:18,040 Speaker 1: in the event of a snake bite. Uh. They were 473 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:21,840 Speaker 1: creating leach repellent, you know, glamorous stuff. They're also funding 474 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:25,000 Speaker 1: projects that would retrofit existing vehicles so that they could 475 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:28,920 Speaker 1: move more effectively through the jungle environments. And they began 476 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:32,080 Speaker 1: to work to develop more advanced communication systems to help 477 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,880 Speaker 1: with logistics. And it was a huge undertaking and this 478 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:37,640 Speaker 1: would fuel research for several years and result in many 479 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:40,760 Speaker 1: more changes in US military operations, not all of them 480 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:45,360 Speaker 1: good ones. Project Agile would continue until nineteen seventy four, 481 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,520 Speaker 1: when ARPO would officially conclude it. Actually at that point 482 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:52,160 Speaker 1: they were called DARPA. Between its launch and its end, 483 00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:56,760 Speaker 1: ARPO would officially kick off the Information Processing Techniques Office 484 00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:59,560 Speaker 1: and put J. C. R. Licklider in charge of it. 485 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:02,880 Speaker 1: Liquilide Or would begin several projects that would have an 486 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:06,719 Speaker 1: enormous impact, not just on the United States but the 487 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:09,760 Speaker 1: entire world. That would include the first steps towards the 488 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:14,200 Speaker 1: establishment of the Internet. Now I'll talk about that more 489 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:18,400 Speaker 1: in the next episode. For now, let's conclude this second 490 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:22,360 Speaker 1: part of our story about DARPA. We will continue our 491 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:25,920 Speaker 1: look in our next episode exploring some of the more 492 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:29,400 Speaker 1: bizarre things that DARP has been involved with, as well 493 00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:32,920 Speaker 1: as the the baby steps that would lead to the Internet. 494 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:35,840 Speaker 1: And keep in mind every single thing I've talked about, 495 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:38,800 Speaker 1: every project I've talked about, I could do a full 496 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:42,600 Speaker 1: episode or maybe a couple of episodes to really cover 497 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:47,280 Speaker 1: because there are tons of implications there, things that would 498 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:52,360 Speaker 1: spin off and become technological advancements in other areas. And 499 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:56,160 Speaker 1: it's all fascinating stuff sometimes terrifying as well. But if 500 00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:59,160 Speaker 1: you have any requests, maybe there's something you heard in 501 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:02,040 Speaker 1: this episode, or maybe there's some other tech topic you 502 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:04,720 Speaker 1: would like me to cover, go on and visit tech 503 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:07,720 Speaker 1: Stuff podcast dot com. That's our website where you'll find 504 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:10,840 Speaker 1: all the ways to contact the show. And don't forget 505 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:13,880 Speaker 1: to head on over to t public dot com slash 506 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:17,920 Speaker 1: tech stuff for a merchandise store. Remember te public holds 507 00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:22,040 Speaker 1: crazy amazing sales all through the holiday season, so be 508 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:24,600 Speaker 1: sure to check back. You never know you might find 509 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:28,600 Speaker 1: the perfect gift for that loved one or, in the 510 00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:32,160 Speaker 1: case of my merchandise, your worst enemy. I'm not judging. 511 00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:35,120 Speaker 1: I just thank you for the purchases every single one 512 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:38,400 Speaker 1: goes to help the show. Also, don't forget tech Stuff 513 00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:41,760 Speaker 1: has been nominated for an I Heart Radio Podcast Award 514 00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:46,680 Speaker 1: A specifically in the category of best Science and Tech Podcast. 515 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:49,880 Speaker 1: You can vote for the show. Your votes determine who 516 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:53,600 Speaker 1: wins this, so you could vote by tweeting. Your tweet 517 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:57,000 Speaker 1: has to include the category, so science and Tech has 518 00:31:57,040 --> 00:31:59,440 Speaker 1: to include the nominee, which is tech Stuff, and the 519 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:04,040 Speaker 1: hashtag I Heart Podcast Awards. You can use the hashtag 520 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:08,240 Speaker 1: tech podcast or hashtag tech stuff for for tech Stuff 521 00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:11,920 Speaker 1: in fact, I would greatly appreciate that. Or if you 522 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:14,240 Speaker 1: really want to show your support, you can head over 523 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:17,880 Speaker 1: to I Heart Podcast Awards dot com. On the website, 524 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:21,200 Speaker 1: you can vote up to five times every single day, 525 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:24,120 Speaker 1: and it sure would be nice to win that award, 526 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:26,440 Speaker 1: so make sure you check it out. Maybe there's some 527 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:28,600 Speaker 1: other shows on there that you would really like to support. 528 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:32,160 Speaker 1: I would love to see lots of great shows taking 529 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:35,560 Speaker 1: home awards as a result of this, and that wraps 530 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:38,720 Speaker 1: everything up for me. I'll talk to you again really 531 00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:46,680 Speaker 1: soon for more on this and thousands of other topics. 532 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:58,040 Speaker 1: Is that how stuff Works dot Com