 Monitoring the disruption of the returning radio waves, called back-scatter, allowed for the long distance detection of rocket launchings and nuclear tests.Based in the Washington D.C. area, the experimental monitoring systems, termed "over-the-horizon radar", were able to pick up radio disruptions from nuclear tests held in Nevada and were later successful in tracking a Polaris missile fired from Cape Canaveral.Thaler attended St. James Parochial School in Baltimore and Loyola High School in Towson, MD.