HAC pioneered the synchronous-orbit satellite, built the first space satellites, and the surveyor spacecraft that made the first soft landing on the moon and sent pictures back to NASA in preparation for the manned moon shots. Without Hughes’s signal-amplifying microwave tubes, pictures from Mars would have been impossible. HAC is responsible for three-dimensional radar that is used for tracking hundreds of planes simultaneously. HAC labs invented laser modifications for surgical uses – and then weapons. The Hughes organization received at least 6 billion dollars in secret CIA contracts in the last decade of Hughes’ life. That’s $11,500,000 a week in secret cash, over and above $11,500,000 a week in public Government contracts awarded to Hughes. That is about 1.2 billion dollars a year.
1/1/1969