Tiros 1

Spacecraft nº: 61

US spacecraft nº: 50

Launch data: Designation 00029 / 1960 Beta 2 / 60002B Launch date 01 Apr 1960 - 11:40:09 UT Launch site CC, LC17A Launch vehicle Thor-DM18 Able-2 (#148) Mission Meteorology Earth orbit on Apr 01, 1960 (.5): Perigee / Apogee  693 x 750 km Eccentricity  0.004 Inclination  48.4 deg Period  99.16 min Earth orbit on May 24, 2000 (.41): Perigee / Apogee  651 x 689 km Eccentricity  0.003 Inclination  48,39° Period  98,13 min

Spacecraft data: Prime manufactor   Platform   Operator   Mass at launch  120 kg Dry Mass   kg Basic shape  Cylinder Dimension (m)  0.48 long, 1.07 dia Equipment   Solar array   Stabilization   Propulsion   DC power   Design lifetime  73 yrs

TIROS I satellite on test stand during preliminary test stage.

TIROS satellite mated to rocket for launching.

Mission:

• TIROS I was the world's first weather satellite to test the experimental television techniques leading to a world-wide meteorological satellite information system. It also was the first satellite to test sun angle and horizon sensor systems for spacecraft orientation. The main objective of the TIROS program was to demonstrate the feasibility and capability of observing the Earth's cloud cover and weather patterns from space. Although the program was experimental, this first space-borne system demonstrated the capability to acquire information which meteorologists could use immediately in an operational setting.
• TIROS I was operational for only 78 days and proved that satellites could be a useful tool for surveying global weather conditions from space
• The spacecraft was 107 cm in diameter, 48 cm high and weighed 112,5. kg. The craft was made of aluminum alloy and stainless steel covered by 9200 solar cells. The solar cells served to charge the nickel-cadmium (nicad) batteries. Three pairs of solid-propellant spin rockets were mounted on the base plate. Two television cameras were housed in the craft, one low resolution and one high resolution. A magnetic tape recorder for each camera was supplied for storing photographs while the satellite was out of range of the ground station network. The antennas consisted of four rods from the base plate to serve as transmitters and one vertical rod from the center of the top plate to serve as a receiver. The craft was spin-stabilized and space oriented (not Earth-oriented). Therefore, the cameras were only operated while they were pointing at the Earth when that portion of the Earth was in sunlight. The video systems relayed thousands of pictures containing cloud-cover views of the Earth. Early photographs provided information concerning the structure of large-scale cloud regimes..
• "For the first time, man had a complete look at the weather over a large segment of the Earth’s surface," said Chief of the U.S. Weather Bureau. He also reports that getting the same information contained in the cloud structure photographs taken by the Tiros I would have required thousands of weather ships over the Pacific.

Satellite tracking: