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1963, NRL astronomers made the first positive identification of
discrete sources of stellar X rays. A new NRL-developed X-ray
detector system was flown on an Aerobee rocket, and the result
was the discovery of two X-ray sources - Scorpius X-1 and the
Crab Nebula. These findings suggested the possibility that the
source of the X rays was a neutron star, a densely packed body
of neutrons formed from the collapse of a star. NRL scientists
wanted to prove this hypothesis, and in 1964 NRL conducted an
experiment on an Aerobee flight during the occultation of the
Crab Nebula by the moon. NRL's data did not confirm the neutron
star theory, which in turn spurred more intensive
investigations. As a result, between 1964 and 1973, 125 discrete
sources were discovered, including supernova remnants, pulsars,
radio galaxies, and quasars. Specific NRL contributions
included: - the first X-ray detection