TIROS-1
Mission type | Weather satellite |
---|---|
Operator | NASA[1] |
Harvard designation | 1960 β 2 |
COSPAR ID | 1960-002B |
SATCATno. | 29 |
Mission duration | 75 days (90 days planned) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | TIROS |
Manufacturer | RCA Astro |
Launch mass | 122.5 kilograms (270 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 1 April 1960, 11:40:09 | GMT
Rocket | Thor DM 18-Able II |
Launch site | Cape Canaveral,LC-17A |
End of mission | |
Last contact | 15 June 1960 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | LEO |
Eccentricity | 0.00401 |
Perigee altitude | 693 kilometres (431 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 750 kilometres (470 mi) |
Inclination | 48.40° |
Period | 99.16 minutes[2] |
Epoch | 1 Apr 1960 11:45:00 |
Instruments | |
Two slow-scan visible television cameras (wide and narrow-angle); horizon and sun angle sensors | |
TIROS-1(orTIROS-A) was the first full-scaleweather satellite(theVanguard 2satellite was the first experimental/prototype weather satellite), the first of a series ofTelevision Infrared Observation Satellites(TIROS) placed inlow Earth orbit.
Program
[edit]The TIROS Program was NASA's first experimental step to determine if satellites could be useful in the study of the Earth. At that time, the effectiveness of satellite observations was still unproven. Since satellites were a new technology, the TIROS Program also tested various design issues for spacecraft: instruments, data and operational parameters. The goal was to improve satellite applications for Earth-bound decisions, such as "should we evacuate the coast because of thehurricane?".[1]
The TIROS-1 Program's first priority was the development of ameteorologicalsatellite information system.Weather forecastingwas deemed the most promising application of space-based observations.[1]
Spacecraft
[edit]TIROS 1 was an 18-sided rightprism,107 centimetres (42 in) across opposite corners and 56 centimetres (22 in) high.
Spacecraft power was supplied by approximately 9000 1 centimetre (0.39 in)- by 2 centimetres (0.79 in)silicon solar cellsmounted on the cover assembly and by 21nickel-cadmium batteries.
A singlemonopole antennafor reception of ground commands extended out from the top of the cover assembly. A pair ofcrossed-dipole antennas(235 MHz) for transmission projected down and diagonally out from the baseplate. Mounted around the edge of the baseplate were five diametrically opposed pairs of small,solid-fuel thrustersthat maintained the satellitespin ratebetween 8 and 12 rpm.
The satellite was equipped with two 1.27 centimetres (0.50 in)-diametervidicon TV cameras,one wide angle and one narrow angle, for taking earthcloud coverpictures. The pictures were transmitted directly to aground receiving stationor were stored in amagnetic taperecorder on board for later playback, depending on whether the satellite was within or beyond the communication range of the station. The satellite wasspin-stabilized.[2]
Mission
[edit]Launched into orbit fromCape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 17Aon 1 Apr 1960 at 11:40:09 UTC by aThor Able IIrocket.[3]
Over its2+1⁄2-month lifespan, TIROS 1 returned 23,000 photos of the Earth, 19,000 of them usable for weather analysis. For the first time, it was possible to view large scale cloud patterns in their totality, and from this, identify storm regions. The satellite provided the first long-term observations of a developing storm from orbit, tracking the disintegration of a largecyclonicmass off the coast ofBermudaover the course of four days. In addition, TIROS 1 returned data on smaller scale structures such astornadoesandjet streams,and findings returned from the satellite complemented and enhanced ground-based findings.[4]: 35
TIROS 1 performed normally from launch until June 15, 1960, when an electrical power failure prevented further useful TV transmission.[2]
As of 2024[update],TIROS 1 remains in orbit.[5]
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Thor-Able launching TIROS 1
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TIROS I image showing a cyclone in South Atlantic, taken on April 28, 1960
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TIROS I image showing an apparently square cloud and a cloud system which enlarged bringing hailstones and tornadoes to central Oklahoma (May 2, 1960)
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Surface weather map of Pacific frontal storm derived from TIROS I data (May 19, 1960)
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TIROS I image showing bright clouds with relatively well-defined edges and isolated from a main cloud mass. Shortly after this photograph, the southernmost cloud spawned a tornado (May 27, 1960).
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Archived tapes of telemetry data received from TIROS I (June 1960)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abc"TIROS".NASA Science.RetrievedDecember 8,2013.
- ^abc"TIROS 1".NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive.RetrievedNovember 14,2020.
- ^McDowell, Jonathan."Launch Log".Jonathan's Space Report.RetrievedNovember 14,2020.
- ^Significant Achievements in Satellite Meteorology 1958-1964.Washington D.C.:NASA.1966.
- ^McDowell, Jonathan."Satellite Catalog".Jonathan's Space Report.RetrievedNovember 14,2020.
- ^Anderson, George D. (April 1, 2010). "The first weather satellite picture".Weather.65(4): 87.Bibcode:2010Wthr...65...87A.doi:10.1002/wea.550.ISSN1477-8696.
External links
[edit]- Track the current position of TIROS 1
- TIROS – NASA Science
- Final Report on the TIROS I Meteorological Satellite System
- The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Exhibition ListArchivedJuly 13, 2010, at theWayback Machine
- TIROS 1 & 2 Ground Control Canter at Camp Evans- preserved by InfoAge Science History Center
- Published story of how the first TIROS photo was flown by helicopter, then a jet from the Camp Evans Ground Control Center to NASA
- TIROS I is Launched - NOAASISArchivedJune 12, 2018, at theWayback Machine
- TIROS-1 50th Anniversary & Resources on Satellite MeteorologyArchivedApril 21, 2017, at theWayback Machine
- NASA's YouTube video of TIROS-1