The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. It conducts basic scientific research, applied research, technological development and prototyping. NRL is one of the first US Government scientific R&D laboratories, having opened in 1923 at the instigation of Thomas Edison.[1] The organization was featured prominently in Anthony Horowitz's 2015 James Bond continuation novel Trigger Mortis and operates the rocket launch site on Wallops Island, Virginia.
Appearances[]
Trigger Mortis[]
In 1957[2], the Naval Research Laboratory is developing the Vanguard space rocket at their launch site on Wallops Island, Virginia. The majority of the engineers working for the Vanguard Operations Group (VOG) were provided by the Glenn L. Martin aerospace manufacturing company. Its military side was represented by United States Navy Liaison and Project Officer, Captain Eugene T. Lawrence, with the civilian aspect managed by Johnny Calhoun. The NRL and the Vanguard are the target of a Soviet plot to destroy the U.S. space program by staging a fake rocket crash in the middle of Manhattan, New York. To this end, an agent of SMERSH operative Sin Jai-Seong bribed an NRL supervisor, Thomas Keller, into sabotaging the Vanguard's propulsion systems. James Bond inadvertently stumbled upon the plot and began investigating at the NRL launch facility; which suspiciously appeared in reconnaissance photographs taken by Sin's men. His concerns are flatly dismissed by Captain Lawrence, but he is assisted by the sympathetic station manager, Calhoun. On the day of the launch the sabotage manifests itself and the VOG staff are forced to destroy the rocket. Captain Lawrence is subsequently dismissed by the NRL.[3]
Members[]
- Captain Eugene T. Lawrence - United States Navy Liaison and Project Officer.
- Johnny Calhoun - Manager, Wallops Island, Virginia.
- Thomas Keller - General supervisor.
References[]
- ↑ Mission. Retrieved on 9 December 2013.
- ↑ Horowitz, Anthony (2015). "Chapter 15: Follow the Money", Trigger Mortis (in English). Hachette UK, p.185. ISBN 9781409159155. “[this counterfeit note is] at least seven years old ... Back in 1950 they made a few changes to the design.”
- ↑ Horowitz, Anthony (2015). "Chapter 24: Travelling Time", Trigger Mortis (in English). Hachette UK, p.294. ISBN 9781409159155.