Television Infrared Observation Satellite

In the TIROS program, whose first generation was 1960-1966, there were ten satellites. This program was started by the United States. Tiros 1 was the first satellite to determine and predict the weather situation and for the transmission of images of high clouds to the earth stations. Were used vidicon TV cameras to observe the schematic of the cloud cover.

TIROS stands for Television and InfraRed Observation Satellite ( German: television camera and infrared observation satellite).

The American weather satellite research program of the second generation was Nimbus program (take-offs from 1968 to 1978 ). The Satellite - Seven pieces - were located in sun-synchronous polar orbits.

Satellite list

First generation

The satellite were in the form of a low cylinder having a diameter of 1.07 m and a height of about 0.5 m. They were with two camera systems ( vidicon wide-angle cameras with a resolution of about 3 km and a swath width of up to 1200 km) and radiometers ( bolometer with a resolution of 50 km) equipped. They provided evidence that satellites can be used for daily weather monitoring.

Farms were the satellites of the Environmental Science Services Administration ( ESSA ), the development was carried out by the Goddard Space Flight Center ( GSFC ) and produced by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). Other project participants were the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA). The first two satellites called by the operator authority ESSA corresponded nor the development of the first generation.

TIROS 1 - Started: 1 April 1960, and suffered an electrical system failure on June 15, 1960 delivered by then, however, far more than 15,000 images
TIROS 2 - Started: November 23, 1960, failed on January 22, 1961
TIROS 3 - Started: July 12, 1961 off, on February 28, 1962
TIROS 4 - Started: February 8th 1962, failure on 30 June 1962 ( Both cameras fell from earlier )
TIROS 5 - Started: June 19, 1962 failure on May 13, 1963
TIROS 6 - started: September 18, 1962 failure on October 21, 1963
TIROS 7 - Started: June 19, 1963 off, on June 3, 1968
TIROS 8 - Started: December 21, 1963 deactivated on 1 July 1967
TIROS 9 - Started: January 1, 1965, failure on February 15, 1967 First Tiros satellite in near -polar orbits.
TIROS 10 - Started: July 2, 1965 deactivated on July 31, 1966
ESSA -1 ( OT-3 ), February 3, 1966
ESSA -2 ( OT -2), February 28, 1966

TIROS Operational System

The satellites of the TIROS Operational System ( TOS) were different from the TIROS satellites no longer pure research projects but have been used operationally for climate research, Earth observation and weather forecast. As with TIROS the operator was the ESSA, the satellite design was made by GSCF and RCA was commissioned to produce.

ESSA -3 ( TOS -A), October 2, 1966
ESSA -4 ( TOS -B), January 26, 1967
ESSA -5 ( TOS -C), April 20, 1967
ESSA -6 ( TOS -D), November 10, 1967
ESSA -7 ( TOS -E), August 16, 1968
ESSA -8 ( TOS -F), December 15, 1968
ESSA -9 ( TOS -G), February 26, 1969

ITOS and TIROS -M

For this third generation, the first NOAA satellites, satellites originate in cubic form (1.02 * 1.02 * 1.24 m³) with solar cells booms (91.5 * 165 cm ² with a total of 3420 cells ). The first satellite of the series ( mass: 306 kg ) were with two APT cameras ( Automatic Picture Transmission) and two video cameras ( AVCS - Advanced Vidicon Camera System ) equipped with a double abstastenden measuring line perpendicular to the flight path in the range from 0.52 to 0, 73 microns ( on the day side of the Earth) and 10.5 to 12.5 microns ( on the night side ) equipped. The resolution was 3 to 6 km. In addition, led the satellites as secondary payloads with a radiometer for the determination of the heat balance of the earth and a proton flow meter. Of the four antennas used was a command reception from the earth and for emitting a Peilsignals, two of the continuous data transmission to the earth and one of the transmission data stored in the S- band. From NOAA -2 ( mass 409 kg), the cameras have been omitted in favor of the line scanner with a resolution of ~ 8 km. From NOAA -3, an improved line scanner was ( 0.9 km resolution ) and an additional instrument for the extraction of vertical temperature profiles in the frequency range of 15 microns for use.

TIROS -M ( ITOS -1), January 23, 1970
NOAA -1 ( ITOS -A), December 11, 1970
ITOS -B, October 21, 1971
ITOS -C, not started
NOAA -2 ( ITOS -D), October 15, 1972
ITOS -E, July 16, 1973
NOAA -3 ( ITOS -F), November 6, 1973
NOAA -4 ( ITOS -G), November 15, 1974
NOAA -5 ( ITOS -H), July 29, 1976

TIROS -N

TIROS -N is a technically improved version of the Tiros satellites with a mass of about 1400 kg and a length of 3.66 m. They circled the Earth in a sun-synchronous conveyor with 97 ° orbital inclination at an altitude 833-870 km each were used in pairs ( offset from one another in orbit 90 °). The satellite possessed a three- axis stabilization and among other things, a high-resolution radiometer ( VVHRR ) to map the surface of the water temperature and day / night overview pictures, a device ( HIRS ) for the determination of temperature and moisture profiles in the troposphere, a device ( SUU ) and a four-channel spectrometer ( MSU) in the 60 GHz range for the determination of temperature profiles in the stratosphere and a radiation meter for local electrons and protons.

TIROS -N, October 13, 1978
NOAA -6 ( A), June 27, 1979
NOAA -B, 29, 1980 Mail
NOAA -7 ( C), June 23, 1981

Advanced TIROS -N

The satellites of this generation were also equipped with devices for the COSPAS- SARSAT search and rescue system.

NOAA -8 ( E), March 28, 1983
NOAA -9 ( F), December 12, 1984
NOAA -10 ( G), September 17, 1986
NOAA -11 ( H), September 22, 1988
NOAA -12 ( D), May 14, 1991
NOAA -13 ( I), August 9, 1993
NOAA -14 ( J), December 30, 1994
NOAA -15 ( K), May 15, 1998
NOAA -16 ( L), 21 September 2000
NOAA -17 ( M), June 24, 2002
NOAA -18 ( N) 20 May, 2005
NOAA -19 ( N '), February 6, 2009

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