The SV-5D lifting body was an unmanned vehicle developed for Project PRIME, Precision Recovery Including Maneuvering Reentry, and was the first vehicle to maneuver on reentry from space. A lifting body was a wingless craft that derived aerodynamic lift from its body shape alone, showing promise as a space vehicle capable of hypersonic reentry into the earth's atmosphere while maneuvering like an aircraft. Manufactured by Martin Marietta Corporation, the SV-5D was also designed to test new ablative heat shield material and provide aerodynamic data on vehicle stability. Three successful launches of actual SV-5D lifting bodies using Atlas boosters were conducted from Vandenberg Air Force Base down the Western Test Range during 1966-1967. Recovery of one vehicle near Kwajalein provided actual reentry heating, aerodynamic, and cross-range maneuvering data that vitally aided later Air Force and NASA manned lifting body programs, including the Space Shuttle. Project PRIME was managed by SMC's organizational ancestor, the Space Systems Division at Air Force Systems Command.