TIROS-1

TIROS I (or TIROS-1) was the first successful weather satellite, and the first of a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites. It was launched at 6:40 AM ESTcite news |title=U.S. Launches Camera Weather Satellite |work=The Fresno Bee |publisher=AP and UPI |pages=1a, 4a |date=April 1, 1960] on April 1, 1960 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the United States.

Tiros 1 was launched on April 1, 1960. TIROS I was designed to test experimental techniques for taking television footage of weather patterns from an almost circular orbit, at an altitude ranging from convert|435.5|mi|km to convert|468.28|mi|km. Though operational for only 78 days (15 days fewer than planned), it was vastly more successful than Vanguard 2 in demonstrating that satellites were useful for surveying atmospheric conditions from space and in sending back 22,952 images. [ [http://centaur.sstl.co.uk/SSHP/mini/mini60s.html Small Satellites: 1960-1969] from the Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd website]

TIROS I was convert|19|in|m tall and convert|42|in|m in diameter. Two television cameras were housed in the convert|270|lb|kg craft, along with two magnetic tape recorders which could be used to store photographs when the satellite was out of communications range. Power was supplied by onboard batteries, charged by 9200 solar cells.

References

External links

* [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1960-002B 1960-002B] , the NSSDC ID for TIROS-1 from the NASA website