In early 1956, in a remote corner of Southern Maryland, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) began constructing the facility that would help define the American Space Age. From tracking the world's first satellite, Sputnik I, to serving as today’s complex mission operations hub, NRL’s Blossom Point Tracking Facility (BPTF) remains a bedrock of naval innovation and the U.S. Navy’s gateway to the stars.