In 1960, Aeronutronic, a division, of the Ford Motor Company, had a contract with Space Track to develop improved methods of predicting the orbits of decaying satellites, a computer program called Spiral Decay, and for other software for new computers in the new building.
In 1958 the Army thought that existing knowledge was sufficient to begin work on a guided missile with a HEAT warhead, and in June 1959 Sperry and Ford Aeronutronic were asked for designs to fill the shorter range role.