May 2 1946
From The Space Library
The RAND Corporation in Santa Monica California publishes "Preliminary Design of an Experimental World-Circling Spaceship." Co-authors included: D. Griggs, L. Ridenour, F. Clauser, G. Peebles, P. Lagerstrom, W. Klemperer, J. Lipp, E. Graham, R. Shevell, V. Sturdevant, H. Luskin, B. Baker, E. Bradshaw, E. Wheaton, H. Liepmann, D. Wall. A supplement was published the following September written by Fred Whipple entitled "Possible hazards to satellite vehicles from meteorites", it is generally believed that this is the paper that spawned the so-called "Whipple Shield".
Preliminary Design of an Experimental World-Circling Spaceship