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tSs~WfAU C, * WO 2 155

SNA'IONAJ.AERONAUTICS
NE AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION TELS w- 2-4 355
N -WASH NGtONp.C. 20546 VW03-6925

-E~EE . 7 -2
. FOR.. RELEASE: TUESDAY P M. 9M
1,1970.
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^¢ ^* r^ @/*-January

-RELEA-SE-, N3 702 ;.

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DEL'LAUNCH*VEHICLE-- . , -,4
.RSGPRTOA A
. ,ES
*- US .> OFIPOE
T.-I.ROS-M POJECT TEAM- ----------------------------------- 2 2

*- 1/7/70 A'.

__ - .;
K7------ - - -

, . . , ,
*.NATii~ti*L .PER6:UTi'CS, AND PA& ADMINISTATION -(202) 962-i55
EWAS TES: (202) 963-69.5

* fOR RELEASE: TUESDAY P.M."


January 13, 1970
RELEASE NO -'70-2

.
NEW TIROSSERIES LAJNCH .

A-new era in- global, weather ~predi~ction is: expe~ct~d


to begn his Year with the- launching b~y the .Natiofial ./

AeronAutics' and. S .aoe .


Adini.istrati-o. ote it i a

'new~series of operationa meteoro-logical satellit-es.

Called TIROS-M or Iffiproved TIROS'Operati~onal..

Satellite-i '(ITOS-l) in orbit, the s~atellite, is's~cheduled


to be~launched no. earlier thanm.Jan., 15 from the Western

Test Range, Lopoc,alif. .

... . .. .N.r

The la~unch vehiicle will be the two-stage- Delta-'N


'which wil1'use, for the first t-ime, si oi.2ulsrp

on rockets for addi~tional thrust at 'liftoff and at about


146,000 feet.

-more- 1/7/70
-2-

The spacecraft will be placed in a: circular,' 909-

Mile altitude polar orbit, inclined 78.224 degrees (retro-

grade) to. the Equator and will circle the Earth'every 115 ' ,

minutes. It's orbit will be 5un-synchronous (Sun always

:at the same angle behind the spacecraft) to provide maximum

'powerforkeeping batteries charged and for illiumination

,for photography.

-In.addition, Aus-tralis'OSCAR-7A, a.39-pqund.spacecraft

. desig'ned and construc-ted-by amateur radio. operators, has

been accepted.as a secondary payload. aboard the Delta second


:

tage. . .

This second-generation operational spacecraft will not

only more.,than double the daily weather coverage now possible


from t~ie current-seri'es of Environmental Survey Satellites

:(ESSA), but at less cost, more effectively and during a longer


., lifet~ime..,
*~~ .
.'' .±~.~~ .

It is capable of taking infrared pictures .of the Earth's

cloud cover at right. and will be able to transmit cloud


top andi'surface temperatures.

-more-
None of' this- was, possihle wvithl peouoeational

weatber sa~tel lites.. However,. simidlar sensors have-be'en


(n 114ASA's reisea~rdh and dev 1opineiet
flown successf'ul)y o
Nimnbus weather: ;atellites.'-

eldith~the nightti'me p1'oto -capability mneteorologlsts-

-will -be provided yith .c)qud.c~ovex -photos ni'ght-and dy


evr.12 hours art er tban, jtoneadywh-atie

'-.TV pictures only 'ap, is now thicase with'_ESSA''satellites&.~


Automatic Picture T'rdnsmlssilon (AT)-system Asati~6ns,

relatively'nepensive ground receiviflg units, cn rcei


the night and day pictures as well as the cloud and surfa~ee
tempierature d~ata. .

Other experiments include a solar -proton monitor i'or

solar flare warnings and-a radiometer to measure the Earth's


heat balance Cthe amount of.-heat reflected fr~om and absorbed'
by te atMosphere),

Another new feature is the attitude contr~ol S'ystei.'

Instead of spinning the whole spacecraft, as with Previous


'ESSA satellites, the body of the spacecraft will be stabilized

in all.''three- axes (pitch,, yaw and r*oll) so that' it *will'always


*face the E~arth. Employing a large, spinniffg wheel and

appropriate 'elect~ronic circuitry, this-stabilization sy-Ste-m


is called "Stabillite."

-7nore-
.-4-

Such a system-has distinct aadvantages over a spnriing

b3atelli~te., 'They.are:,

--Sensors will be able to scan the Earth constantly,


providing'cloud cover photos and temperature
measurernents.

--The spacecraft's antenna will point toward Earth


all.'the -tine providing better communications.

--Several weather-measurinig sensors can be operated*


simultaneously. '

TIROS-M will weigh, more than twice as ruch as previous

T±ROS Operatiohs System (TOS) satellites, 682 pourds' as

opposed to.,300 pounds-,


* s-
and
qu
will return more and''better . data
., .p, .

than two of the present TOS or ESSA. satellites.'

, Instead of' aving the former TOS hatbox shape -with

solar cells around the extertor,,TIROS-M is rectangular


-SO
isrcanua .TRO-

or box-shaped with.-a deployable three-panel solar array.

With the panels unfolded the spacecraft measures 14 feet

across. -

Re 'her than two TOS satellites carrying two cameras

each, two APT cameras in one and two Advanced Vidicon Cameras

(AVCS) in the,.other,'the new.spacecraft will carry two 'of

each with the AVCS-.cameras being much improved models. In

addition, .TIROS-M will carry redundant two-channel infrared-

radiometers for global daytime and nighttime cloud cover and

surface data which can be transmitted to the more than 500

APT statio.ns in 50 countries along with the conventional day--

time A-T pictures.

-more-

--
The radiometer data will also be taped on the space-

craft for later readout at ESSA's two main data acquisition

stations at Wallops lsland,.Va., and at. Fairbanks, Alasica.

The AVCS takes a series of photos which are also

recorded on a ,spacecraft tape recorder''for later .readout

at the main data acquisition stations. They. are then'transr


"s
mitted to the'Environmental Science Services Administration
National Environmental 'Satellite Cefter, Suit'landtDd.' -this
systeim takes. photoi 6of the-'entire Earth daily..

.-
The -two daytime cameras, APT anrd AVCS, vith a picture

resolution of two miles, will operate for about 48 minutes


of each 'orbit. The radiometer, with a resolution of' about'

two miles during the day and four miles at night, will
operate'for 71.minutes of each orbit.

With the improved technology housed in one spacecraft'

rather than in two, and' the new stabilization system, the


TIROS-M is expected to be longer lived as well, as substantially
more.economical. Earlier TOS satellites were expected to

'last about six months, but most of them have operated up to


a number of years.'

-more-

top-
-6-

The ITOS System is a joint effor, ±f the NASA and the

Commerce Department's Environme-. ti ScienceServices Admin-'

istration. -While TIROS-M, the first of the riew. series was

funded by NASA, with Thie' exception of the meteorological

sensors,. future spacecraft in the ITOS series will be fyund.d

,Pby the (n a.ecce Depatftment. ' .

'i'h>e.cuirrent contract with the prime contractor,

RCA Corp.', calls for six' ITOS spacecraft, including TIROS-M.

All ; ,the ITOS spacecraft, w ill be launched and checked'.

. out in orbit by NASA "for.the Commerce.Dept.' With- the

exception of TIROS-M, the ITOS spacecraft will be turned over

' to. ESSA shortly, after they have'been launched and checked

out in orbit by NASA.

Since rIROS-M is a prototype.of a.new series, NASA.

*willlmaintain control 'of the satellite in- orbit for several

months to-assess its engineering performance. All of the,

weather data from Itros spacecraft including TIROS-M, Will,

be transmitted in real time to'ESSA.

This maiden flight of TIROS--M comes almost one decade'

after the world!s first weather satellite, TIROS-1, blasted

off from. Cape Kennedy, Fla. (then,'Cape Canaveral),April 1,,

1960. Meteorologists hailed it as one, of the most "revolu-

tionary" events in the history'of weather forecasting.

-mrore-
-7-

. Since that fi rst- r~eo4ologiea1 brekthrough, a

total of 10 TIROS and (i i^,R, a.her, observers have been

launched. All, have met or e;xc^,eded trieir mission objectives.-.

Tlhese satellit.es bave ;returned more t'han 1 1/4 xrpi 1l1ic n

weather pictures.

Since the first operation8al' wather Ceye iriSSA 1, was

launched Feb. -3, 1966,;the'-woold-4 weather-has been joni-

.tored daily by ESSA satelle .. -

' .TIROS and ESSA satelli I-es nave tracked nearly-all

of the more than )400,tropic~al storms, hurricarnes and typhoons

recorded since TIROS I was launched..i.n 1960.

The world meteorological community'has called the APT

camera the "tsing e most significant-coqntributLon to met6or-

olcqy in the past tw~enty, yers."

A number of private.users in the UniteedStates an d

numerous foreign countries have built thei' own reccivers'

and facsimile machines at costs ran'ging from severa1 hundred


to several thousand dollars.

-more-
-8-

I.May Qf' the world's la rge airports have APT pictures


Now, .iith
for commercial pilots to study before a flight.
see wceat~her condi-
the TVIROS-M0 system, pilots will be able to
'A

hours, from New


tions during the night as well as daylight

'York to London, or San Francisco to Tokyo. Sorietime' in'the,

frWture it is expected that. pilots will be able to receive

APT 6loud iover photons in flight'

TIROS
In addition to contributing to meteorology,
valuable in ice
and ESSA satellites have been extremely

n ack reconnaissance. ESSA publishes sea-ice charts of the


a;s ah
Great Lakes and other important sea travdiJroutes

aid to navigators.

The operational weather .satellftJt program is a Joint


Admin-
effort of NKASA and theEnvironmental Science Services

*istration The Delta booster for ITOS missions is managed

by Goddard while launch operations are conducted 'by NAgA-'s:

Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Unmanned Launch Operations'.

ITOS spacecraft, as well as the earlier 19 TIROS/ESSA*

satellites,. were built for NASA by the RCA Corp,, Ast-t6

Electronics Division, Princeton, N.J. Prime contractor 'for

Huntingtonr
tie Delta booster is the McDonnell Douglas Corp.,

Beach, Calif.

-more-

' -z
The Australis OSCAR-A piggyback satellite was

built by'a group of arnatour radio operat6rs at Melbournlo

University in Australia, giving.rise to the "Australis"


position of its name. Tho Radio Amateur Satellite Ccrp.'

(ASSAT), a group of United States amateurs, is. preparing'

the, satellite for lauhch, testing and qualifying It t.ocomply


with NASA requirements. OSCAR is an acionym for Orbiting

'Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio. X

A group of American radio operators based- on the


:
Pacific Coast has successfully launched and operated f6ur
,amateur'radio satellites since 1961 in a program'known as
Pr")Jeot OSCAR. The previous four OSCAR-launches were in.

conajunction-with Department of De'fensejspacecraft.

The satellite (OSCAR-5 in -orbit) will be placed into

a 910-mile orbit and will be inclined 102 degrees to the.


Equator with a period of about 114 minutes.

Transmission frequencies are 29.45 megahertz in the


telemeter band and at )14.05 Mhz in the two-meter band.

A transmitting life of approximately two months is expected


from the 20 pounds of batteries carried by the satellite.
END OF RELEASE; BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOLLOWS

-more-

r~7
j.
.. ......
*
. ,

TIROS'-M FACT SHEET

Spacecraft: Box-shapped, 14 *feet-wide with solar


panelsdeployed, weighing 682 pounds. * .

Stabilization: Earth ,oriented and three-axis


stabilized to within.1 degree

Mission Objectives: .

Primary 'Observe day and night'cloud covr in .


the visible and infrared spectrums for
"live" transmission to users anywhere
'. in the world.
Ob1serve global caoudlcover.daily. in
both thevvivsibresafd-invnlStbe
(infrared) spectrums as recprdOd in
the satellite for later playbacl and
processing (AdvancedVidicon Camera
Sy~stem & Scanntng Radiometer) ,

Secondary ' Gather heat balance data (Flat Plate


* .. . Radiomete, )'.and ideyntify proton-'flux
levels at the spacecraft altitude '
(Solar Proton Monitor)..

Launch Ihformation:'

Vehicle' Delta N (Two Stage) with six s6lids


serapped onto 'the first stage Thor

'Complex Western Test Range, Calit.., SLC-2 West

Azimuth' 259 degrees True

Date
. 'No earlier than January 15, 1970

Window 3:31 AM PST - 3:51 AM PST

Orbit Circular, 909 statute. miles

Period . 115 minutes , . . ,'

Inclination ' 78 degrees (retrobgrade)

Powei' Supply 10,000 negatlve-on-positive',solar.


cells mounted an three identical
panels 3 feet wide by 5 feet ,long
producing 250 watts of average . *

power.

-more-

Iran.,
Tracking:'

Orbit Sixteen stations in NASA's world-


wide Space Tracking and Data
Acquisition Network (STADAN)

D.ata Acquisition -. Fairbanks, Alaska (Giihnore Creek)


Facilities and Wallops Is'land, Virginia.-

Automatic Picture More than 500.independent stations


Trahsmission.Ground In more than 50 countries'in every
Stations
-- continent.

Spacecraft Lifetime: On-e year

*.Spacecraft Management: Office of Space Science and


: . Applications, NASA Headquarter~s,,
and the Goddard Space Flight Center,'
. . Greenbelt, Md'."

Lauu.ch Vehicle:

Management Godda'rd Space Flight CenteP'

Operations . NASA/Kennedy Space Center


Unmanned Launch Operations

Prime Contractors..

Spacecraft . .CA.Corporation, Astro Electronics


- 'Division

'Launch Vehicle McDonnell/Douglas Corp.

-<lore-

14ft, a:=#2jW
-12-

THE SPACECRAFT
/

Major features of the spac~ecraft, ar~e.the equipment'


module (main body), the dep~loyable three-panel solar array,
and the momentum flywheel. The base of the mairn body is' ap-
proximately 4O.inches x 40.'inches. and the overall height of'
the body is'approximately. 48 ihches . Total tleight is ap-
proximat-elv 682 pounds.
The solar array-consists of three panels, "each Indepent
dent~ly hinged to the main body -of.the spacecraft'-with a total
6 .4 inches
arr'ay'area. of 48-square''feet. Eabch pacnel measures'3
.x 63.8 inches.
In the launch configuration,. the ,panel-s are folded and
held agair.st the.sides of the. eqluipment.modu~le. Following
the initial orientation maneuver,. squib,-abctuated pinh pullers'
ar~e fired, allowing spring~-~.aded actuattors't'o deploy, each',.
panel 'so that its surface, is, erpeidicular -to t1,e spacecriaft
pitch akis..

Dynamics'Control Subsystem
Four major dynamics control.devices are incorporated in
the spacecraft: a.quarter-orbit magnetic-attitude control.
(QOMAC) coil, a magnetic bias control (MBC) ooil, a pitch
control lodp.(two devices operate by establishing magnetic
'fields which interact with the magnetic field-of the Earth
to produce a torque on the',pacec'raft. The torque, in turn,
causes the spacecrafttO. preces's or change it.s orbital path
slightly to the west each day.
' 'The QOMAC system is used to postition the spin ax-is
(pitch axis) of the spacecraft so that it will be perpendicular
to the plane of the orbit. The MBC coil is use& to.reduce the
residual magnetic dipoie moment of the spacecraft and retain
the necessary dipole'moment to precess the spacecraft approx-
imately one degree per day. for"'the required Sun-synchronism.
The pitch control loop consists of a momentnm flywheel,
a flywheel drive motor,. a.scanning mirror, pitch and roll.
sensors, two momdentum coils,, and associated electronics'. AThe
flywheel, operating in the mission mode at a nominal spped
of 150 rpm,.provides gyroscopic stiffness to 'the spacecraft
and serves as a source'and sink of pitch momentum. Trhough
'the action of the pitch control loop, the' spacecraft sensors
are continuously' maintained in alignment with the 'Localver"
tical. The mome-tum coils provide fine-wheelspeed momentum
Control about the spacecraft pitch axis.

-more-,

----
TIROS M CONFIGURATION
ACTIVE THERMAL
ZONTROLLER FLAPS
SOLAR
SEPARATION APT. REAL-TIME
RING -PANEL CAMERAS ANTENNA
MOMENTUM FLY W}IEEL /
SOLAR , li
PROTONj A ' I\
-O . ' .SOLAR -

1* 1
-5 MEL

".
*A -t

AtCS~~'I. t;.RA
SLSOLAR PANEL
-' 7~llTO

FLAT-PLATE ,4/9' ,A
PAhEE C -j . \ SENS.
TERJPATRYMtNAt STUATO.R
-TH1ERMAL-Fh8CE

^ ;O/M)Oi;
M AND OUTRND N V.
RADIOMETERS SuBANDv*

ISENSOR
RADIMETE .~DltA
ill~ .'BEACON
ANTFENNA
AVCS ASACQU 1SITION'
AYCS~. )~..'
'!.AS

SOLAR .DIGITAL
S-BAND ANTENNA
PANELSOLAR ASPEC T
PANEL INDICATOR
NA5A SA 68-437
12-6-67
rF
r. .. ..

' i.
a P cr a .

.43

soaTh,:: 'spacecraft uesfive attitude sensors:i a -!ak digit'al


W -bc
soarasec *srnso sensorsad
-two. tll r osesors.. Th E DSA S is used dupinog the Ini-
,ro , Su &'_-
-
torer nt'a t1ioYn
ten
aa,, ' ,
.d_me~ie;
.
it 'dderIves
ooeA56i. 'Its scanning, rrom .the
.u~ .f c.. .,Ž ae. . .

;Aftei±bhel. nltial orientation rnaneuveri; Senaingis.-ac-


h1onizor~a'hd roll 'hohi~zon sensors which
copli'hed bcv. tiw, nJ'It',c
viw hcErrora ocated 6n the momentum
,nnrw
i-ihe: . -

,m Oa potJo.o h

a ie.-snacecT'-fft ca'xries' four' antennas: omadad


be~oianv-enna!,, two reA-1. 7 ime antier.-nas,.and 'a-play-akS-
bnd).-antenna The command and beacbr' antenna, a single whip
Ntj _l Z
u~ bo4 'IC ConEna
9'T1 ln and the :beaqpn e~
T 'metrV -Ilhri~-_ Eaah'~ -ret.l-time 'antenna. c-onsi-st~S of two .half-wave-
dio.,es.ns~ta.1lad at, tbh extremity -of one of'-the~so ar~paneles.
T~he- S-Band aire a~ssddol ~v~ algrud h~e,.i
.e
'e, U - aven , -

fThe ow3r converts solar energy ,nto elec"rl:al


ower-for d v .
o. all tie -e.ectrical equi i"ent.of the
spac&c raft Irt 'Pomor~i se's asolar array,'power ,qupply elec-
trO~ ~s'and 'shunt'dissipa~tors..-

Dur-ng -the nyti. pbit, the array sup-


~plie.~ pOW03;- for thk~s-,acj(.-e.r4ft. subsystems afid for chapr-ing
t''e bateries cbargi.nft rat .o f th6. batterieso is regulated
. achage ontroe. Array.pacecraf
power. e
reqai'enirents,, L- di_~sspipted in thre -shutd1S ats Te
batter-ies zuvqfly power 'dear:1g the rnXgh~t-tm prio f the
orbit and wl~er :t..acecr'aft (earnad exceed t-ne p(?wer' e~vaiLlab le.
from the S . . ., , -'

Termal Cotr ubsyste . . -

. . t, The ral cohntrol bs y


bsVsem i s composed. a ge6iietritally
var-ab II
ls. ; surfaces (thersoal fence) on th. upper Pace of'
.the ;spacecr ft., var-iat, Ierittance,
e surfaces on both
g the AVCS a.id-
APT e 'qutipmcetit a nro1 z- (Lhe val jable feature. provided by liquver-
type-actlve iCn troiler;), and a fixed radiator onntle crpatce-
craft h-azer.l~
- surfaces of the. spacecraft or :qu ipmt
module are covored wlti h multifoilnlayerainsflslation blankets.
Th. t-herma 1 rf cE, Is -designed 'to absorb more sblar energy -at
higher Sup, .ngle,

-more-
'
Th's desig'n compensates for the reduc't-ion in spacecrat
Sun. angle.
,electrlcal.power level caused by, the increasing
*.......
.,.*,.*,. ............ ..............
....
...... .....
......
;,.,,...................................................... -.S,.
.......... ,
.
Accelebromete.r Subsyste,
servo'-type.' .
Tne accelerom ter subsystem onsis ts of twc.
measurements
accelepomleters and-a contro. lunit.. I't provi.dze5 the.'Iaun' .
*o the g-ievels'nduced fn-l the spicecraft.'during
unch sep'aratio~n. Th'es ;
maneuver, from" liftof , to.'spac'c rrafb/ .thebeacolo Ilnk-'
dat& are transmfitted to the ground. statioyi
in each, of
The accelerations are sensed'iriyonly-one '.rectlof tii-te 'of-measureent,, ;
two. axs.. :It is anticipated that .the
.d
spacecr ft. .
may be alternate'di on s'uceeding'ITOS'

T-4.ros-M Weather Measuri'ngSensors,


tWs
,he primary me'trorologi'cal senso.s include
Vidc4cn Camera System (AVCS) nmas'for'stQrin
tbe. world's weather; t -woAutoma'tic P6t6''ure.ATransmiofl (APT,
'drat
agroun&d tstai'ons; and,-t . .
camera for
scanning radiometers irared),,r'O sei~±di'i"'4irec'.APT..'tctures.-
as we.llas . ei'itt.i.- : at
-- ;t, . (-. .- .,. -5
orpl.ay~ack' la'Ve'?, '
'; ,
1

a.. .. . ',*

a Fiat- Plate 'Radio


Flnsors"'are '. -
'econdary meteor'ol'gica-
meter (FPR)' and a .Solar Proton Moflitor -(SM).
-These sensprs.
data.and'to
'have 1'een designed to gather Earth-he'tala-ce
measure proton flux levels, at the satElitea-ltkude.
.
Primary Meteordlogicai'Sensors.
,
Advanced Vidicon Camera Subsystem (AVCS) '

high, resolution .
. he AVCS takes a series o~f wide-angle,
cl~ud .cover,'tore .
.telev:stn p.icturesof'the Earth-and.4fts
these 'pictures on:one. -of two 3atel-et'borne-tape recorders,
station,,, ,
and, on commnandtransmits the v- de6 .signal.t'o. ground
a .
'w5icture-taking operatiiohs 'f the' AVCS' are conftrolled'iby;
a
by
Drogram of Instructions tratnsmitPed'to 'te6:.satelliate
'Command and Data AcqUiisi %ion'dbA) sta'tion.
. 2

i*'complete picture seq 48' mnuts,


taken at intervals of ,
d.riri, which ll pictures '(r frflen),are When .
260 st'conds and stored on t1e selectedi.tape recorder. the
'the last picture in ttie. sequence is. takenh:and recorded,
signal for:'the AVCS.
c'inmand substystem provides a "power off"

-more-

' A ~~ .- .~
-15-

A "polier on"'ommand and the picture-taking sequence lre-


until the active progra;er
repeated during suciceeding orbits
time .is deter-
* -eitser reloaded or turned. off. "The,repeat andnormal-ly is
'

mined bby-the data loaded into the programmer


the time of oile orbila1 revolut'io.'n.
start
. Consequently, .succssaive..orbit picture se~quenpes
latitude.,as'-.the. first,: bu't a're dis
- 'a-t apbroxiatei)Y the-same 'at thie
in longitudce by a;proximaately 285degrees
x.r'laced
.1 xiatcr

overlap in
This displacement proiduces a slight lateral In-'
The. amount .'of lateral overlap.
. ov-erage at the quato.r.,lat Ltude'.
'.cieas's with increa.sing ,.- . bi ,:a.. ..
The

,.rbital
The overlap .of-sicces~siveiiotures$-along 'therate and i5
of.the fixed pic'ture,,aking
;track'is a function
abput,' 50: 'percent . ;,
Automatic Picture .Transmis
- O A.PT) ca'era Subsystem

AVCS cameza'subsystem,,.
'he.APT, camera subsystem;, like the 'of -the Earth
pictuires
is used-to take up to 1 wjide-angle TV of the satel-
cloud cbver'during the.daylight portion
.and its the .APT and
lite orbit. However, a taAc ddiffergnce'betweeh1 always trans-
*subsystem
AVCS camera. subsystem is that the APT being tak~en
t television data directly as the picturesare
,' its records the"
real time). whereas the AVCS subsystemn
n(i- normally
'
.. . . . .
TV..pibtures for i4ater playback.. . .

subsystem also has


. Lke the AVC3 cameras, the APT camera .
by ground-'
a picture resolution-oP-twomiles. It is: contrblled from
to the sate].lite
.
. itiated cormrands that.are transmitted satellite's'
the CD~A stations and are process'ed'and Etored.by.'the
commani subsystem. The program o,f-commands uirects the APT
pictures at a
cam'era subsystem'to start taking a sequence of *
. ,
predeotermined point in orbit..
They
A ruil APT picture sequence contains' 11 pictures'.
11 pictures may
are taken' t 260-second. interval.ls. Any of. the contain 'from.
'so that'.a sequence may
be omitted .)y programming
be located at'
one to ll pictures,,and the pictur'es taken may
any desired'positions ixn.the sequence. Once thesequence is
under satellite com-
'initiated, the camera will take pitctures has'been taken.'
mand until the programmed, picture sequence stations within
'i'nese pictures are transmitted' to APT 'field
a transmitter in the
corrmiunications range.of the satellite *by
rea3-tl.me data. link.

-mor'e-

N WA
durIng each. Qorit
The sequence is repeated'automatically Is turned off or
of the satellite untiI the command subsystem
pro~grammed otherwise by. a CA statin. -

vidicon.that.
The 'APT camera emp].oys a.htg--Ders..stencv
tiage.. Use of this vidcon per-
.'providesa-600x800scan-line signal which, in
mits narrow band transmission of' the vi'deo equipment at the''
turn, allows the use' of relatively simple
APT, field stations.

.Scanning.Radiometer Subsystem
infrared subsystem,
The scanning,' adioneter (SR), OIEarth
the during orbit day. and
measures. emintted radiation. from Earth during .
*night and measures reflected radiatilon from inthe 'real time to
daytime. ,The data. obtaited' ,is..transrnit'ted
playback
Qocal user stations and is also-recorded for.later
tosthe CDA stations'. Daytime resolution.is 2 mi'es 'and ,4
-

at nighttime. '
* ,miles
r
w t
instrument
The scanning.radimeter,a meteorological is unique in
built especially for use on the ITOS satellite
.
resolu-
spatial
sensing two spectral re'gions and in its high
radiation from tIle
tion. The radiometer measures reflected
durincr
Earth.Inthe 0.52- to 0.73- Icron region (visible) the 10.5- to'
daytime.ardeniitted radiation from the Earth'innight.
and
.12.,5- micron-iregion (infrared) during day
surface tem-
*The subsystem permlts determination of the by the radio-
6or
peratures of ground, sea, cloud tops viewed
meter. Sr.nsitivity in the 10.5- to 12.5- m'cron'spectral re-gion
in daylight as
'permits surface temperatures to be determined in thiswave-
we~ll as at night',.since.reflected solar. radiation
.. radiance.. The
*length region is small compared with.emitted has a higher
radia.tior,
visible measurement of reflected solartelevision
ac.curacy capability'than camera systems
calibrati~on which occurs in
presently in use and is not subjectto shading
*
.the vidicon camera systemls.
a
The SR subsystem consists of. two scanning radiometers, (SE
recorders
dual SR processor and two scanning radiometer
recorders).
on or
Each radiometer and tape recorder can be turned the SR pro-
Each haltr of
off by commend from. a CDA station. powered when"
and is
*cessor is associated with one radiometer are mouinted on
that radiometer is powered. The radiometers
to provide them with
the satellite structure in a manner of approximately
maximum sun shielding and to permit a scan
,150 degrees without obstruction.
-mor'e-

-
-17-

- As the spacecraft proceeds along its orbit, t.he radio


meter sc,ans'thle ,Earth.'s surface i~ronihorizon to hori'zon,-
scans
.perpendicular to the orbital plane..@ The'.radiometer
rotating mirror, whIc '
the Earth bt means -of a contipuopsly to.
iVs ax-s of rotation (narallel
i 4sincliied; '45 -degrees to .
a the tesl)te'5 veot 'ctor.:
*

Envirotnmental Sensor D es
.tecoridary
:

Solar Po6ton Mniitor. ''

. The So1ar.Prot'on-Monitor. (SPM).is designed to measure


conr-
the proton fluxes encountered in the ITOS orbit and to
L'

for
vert these measurerent'. to a,f oating point binary c'ode
recording and subsequ'eit pla;yback and'tr,:nsmission to ground ,
stations. The SPM equipmeht oi,,t stellite conssts ofa-
sensor 'assembly, anJ.electronics ''assemb, and .a'nelectrl'eal
.harnesS. -
'f .'olar,
The solar proton monitor, will provide warnings High
o.roton storins, which are cu'rrentty used in sever'al.ways. space-.
altttude users,.such as supersonic transports and mnanned
on the
crart- make, provisions for-the proteestioh of.personnel
*bas~s oXfthis- data.

Solar. proton storms affect radhlo'frequency links (VLF '


through HF), andsince.satelIIte warnings of.ten prece-de.
dsturbances., alternate radio pathz or frequen-
donoSpheric
cies are 6ften selected in advatnce.
ot~her ,
* The ITOS SPM data w'ill be correlated with datafrom with
satellites (such as the TMP'and Fioneer). rocket probes,.
;grduhd based optical/radlo sightings.'.
,
- The long-term goal of this data-gatgherilg and correlation
betw~een .
activity is .the, better. understanding of' the interaction a-'
solar.radiation'and the Earth's environmftent-by providing
p:'ot6n fluxes' over an extended
syvstematic.mohitoring of 'the cycle..
peri.od of time, e'specially' during.the current solar

Flat Plate Radiometer,


of
* The flat plate-radiorfte~e'r (FPR) measures the amount
heat being radiated. into -space by the Earth a.nd is employed
to 'continue the progrtAm of.mensuration of the Earth's heat
balance initiated on the TOS spacecraft piogram.

-more-
to By knowiing, the- sola;r tPut-(belleved to be a constait)O.
tothe Eatith, the a~ount~ of' heat absorbed by- tbe"£artih m!ay
of theFPE proqgram objecie ~t
ted~etermtfed;' One
de termiine th6 long-term 'hea c thus determ'tning.
%ags.,
-.whet er 'the Earh isgtt-g warmer.o olr
P,-osedi a sig-enis~ of h~oneycomb
.- *-
* .h
in~eaft
material, dndludez the four' sensors, 'electronics,;and
iofi bone pirr,
or, ea Iibr atf o'f' ensos

The-P1, con'sists of two p~i't io ns, -ih electronics-


'packa~e ar4ndthea s'ensor hed, The, head, .cPns,.s'ts of. the four~
rad onet'e rst he. r~ai-ative'- equ!3Jbrfu-m',iRV,-) -co6ling mirro'r
the motor hiach -dfrives,. the ~ 1 e-m1 feedba~k :(TF), sensors,
theT-F hem!2s~heres, -ald'the. sensors -to teleeter the on
and,.--Ier6 sphe6e6, rnpertre.v ----

Thwla.-lae:adioy ite iO mnouinted on the art rta


'facing. fiace. hf
teOaite~.lite. and is part ially .o'vered
;It1b a~thermalbanie, - 9,
-j - ----

-rnoore--
III

_0 -. ~

I -
-19-

* ESSAXUSE OF IMPROVED TKROS OPERATIONAL SATELLITES

The TIROS-M spacecraft is a prototype of the Improved


TIROS Operationa' Satellilte (ITOS),'which'will become the
vehicle for the Environmental Science Services Administra-
tion's operati.onal weather satellite'system..
willTIROS-M and the first three spacecraft in the ITCS.series
will include the 'following sensors: 1) two Advanced Vidicon'
-Camera Systems (AVCS); 2) two 'Automatic Picture Tran'smissi.on
(APT) systems; 3). two dual-channel Scanniing Radiometer systems;
4) a low-resolution Flat Plate 'Radiometer; and 5) a Solar . .

Proton Mcnitor.

'The new satellite combines, in one vehice,'the Automatic


Picture Transmission and.the global picture stdrage capa-
bilities that require the launch of sepai~Atc- spacecraft. in
tjlne present operational system. Thus., fewer launcbes wil~lbe.
needed to keep',the system .in operation..
As .in the current operational syste'ar, the global data f6r.'
analysis by weather Aenters,.provided by the Advanced-Vldicon
'Camera Systems, will berecorded on magnetic tape for, trans-
mission to an ESSA Comimiand and Data Acquisition station, and
relay 'to.the ESSA National Environmental Satellite Center;
the APT pictures will be.transmitted directly to ground re-'
ceiving'stations.
The Scanning Radiometer' systems wili provide data in
both" visible and infrared channels. The infrared da-ta --
the first to be availabLe on.an operational basis -- can
provide 'cloud pictures at night as'well as during the day.'.

The addition of nighttime observations tp tfie operational


systeem will extend satellite coverage of th6 Eairth's weather
to.a truly glchal basis. Because the' AVCS and APT camera .'
systems phbtograph only in daylight, the existing spacecraft
have not furni hed information on areas in polar darkne's. '
With nighttime picture coverage', the entire Earth will be
observed twice each.day by both stored and direct readout
systemS.
The Scanning Radiometer data can be broadcast directly
through the Automatic Picture Tran~srission.systein, and at
the' same time recorded simultaneously for lat'er readout to
ESSA Conmmand and Data Acqui'sicion stations. The infrared data
from the SR system can be broadcast continuously for reception
by APT stations during the approximately 70-minute nighttime
portion of each orbit. Either infrared or visible data can
be broadcast continuously; in place of APT pictures, during

-more-

'
4.,'
-20-

of each orbit. However, t is


the L5-minutQ daylight portion .channel radiometer data
* planned init'allV to, transmit visible ploture transmissions
APT
for' 9)1' of the 102 seconds betweel. orbit. The radiometer data
of the
- during the daytime portion
sfi'il cover an area near the
center of, the next- APT photograph
to be broadcast. ,.

Radiometer provides
The ihfrare~d Cchannel of' the Scanningin clear air, or, at
the sur'ace
'temperat;ure measuremqents at
,ts signals can-be fed.into 'a computer
the tQpS :of'clods. into& loud top he ights
to cdnvert the cloud 'top temperatures Satellite pinctures
ard to prepre a map o'f cl'ud-top',topopgraphy.
winds, especially for regions
are frequently used' to'estimate by measuring
where' little upper-air informa-tionlis..available, pictures of;
.Cloud in succesive.satellite
otheotin
difficult or impossible to
. the':samearea. 'It'.s frequeltly
t6ps;frbom the satellite photo-:
determine the height of'cloud
cases. the, altitude of the,,derived
' graphs alone, and 'in these
on the -tepmperature., and by,
wirid'is kdoubtf'l. JInf6rmRtion
tops wi-l eliminate this
inference the height, of. cloud, with better inrormatlon
diffic -tY, and provide jmeteorologists
the atmosphere...
on wind at various levels' of'
dditi~onfl the 'radiometers will.ptovid6 surface ,
computat-.:on of atmospheric
.Ir.

'temperature readings necessary fot- made by the Satellite


- teipperature profiles from. soundings
Irtfrared Soectrometer aboard. Nimbus'III.'
3ystem is
The. low-rJesolution Flat Plate .Radiometer spacecraft and.will
ESSA, AVCS
siniilar to those ihc-luded- in theEarth"'s heat balance.
'

continue gathering data on the


in TIROS-M
The.addition of the Solar Proton.Monitor of. the environ-
the exansion
a-d'the ITdS series' re.sages. for future.operationa'l-
mentalsensing capabilities planned Solar Proton Mohitbr will
The
satel'lites'in the ESSA series. encountered in orbit. Its
count the-energetic particles energetic solar prrotons.
functi-on -is.to dece.dt-the arrival. of data will be relayed
in the, vicinity of EarthV: Tape-recorded 'station to -the
via. 'an ESSA Command and Data Acquisition for proctssing and
N±tional.Enviropmental.Satellite.Center
calibration'.' The inforrmatiolm will be used by ESSA's Space.
Colo., for detection and
Disturbances Laborattory in.Boulder,
warning', of solar- storms..
operational
Thej ITOS spacecraft, unlike the existing environmental
additional
satei'ltes, i's large enough to holdlater spacecraft are verti~cal
sensors,.' Among.thos.e planned for
to the Satellite
temperature profile sounders --. similar global temperature data
Infrared Spectrometer--- to obtain programs.
'for use in riumeri-cal-weather prediction
'
-more-
. -21-

7.
DELTA LAUNCH VEHICLE

flight for the'


The TIROS-M mission will'be. the 76th 75 lauhchiygs,
Of the previous
workhorse Delta launch vehicle.spacecraft.
70 successpfully orbited their
of.Space Sc'ience.and
'Delta is managed for NASA's Office
Flight 'Center, GreenbeIt,
Appllcations.by the Goddard Space by the Kennedy'.Space
Md. Launch operations are conducted Th' McDonnell'Douglas
Center's Unnanned Launch Op'eratiQnsf.'Delta prime contractor.
* Corp;,, Hintingt.on'Beach, Cali. ,-<is
mark 'andther,firs.t in.
"'. This Delta 76/TIROS-M mi'ssion.'wiill
soidboosterswill
'Deltas.history. For.the firsttime,:sixTheree.of these will
b-e'<,strappe.d onto the.,first stage.Thor. -t other
ignite:. hi-l Delta is:stifll the launch.pad, whilethe
some..38 feconds
artei'
three. will. ".liht.O1-j'?at al.titude 'feet.
the'launchbsite.,
-off.and -abUtdu 6;.0 above
'to place, the.heavier..
The'three.extra s'olids are .needed orbit,
TIR0S-,M/jTO8 s.pacecra'ft intbo 900mfm'le-high
of the three-
- .. Following are the~generai characteristics
stage vehicle for the'TIP.OS-M mission:,
Total Height:-, 106 feet

Total Weij.kt: 225,000 pounds

Maximum Diameter . 8 feet


(First Stage 3

:00
(First Stage Thrust pounds (includes
solids.)
(a'erage):,
Thor,.Produced
Fir'ta (Liquid Only)i. Modif.ie~d Air Force Division o. ,
engines by Rocketdyne
by 0 onnelY-lDougla6.Corp.;
0
North;American Rockwell. .
Height: 75 feet

Diameter': 8 feet
RP- kerosene for the fuel and
.'Propellants:
?rpe~an$ juid oxygen (LOX) f6r the'
. ' ' , 'oxidizer.'

Thrust: , . 172 ,000 pounds

-more-
-22-

Weight: 186,000, nounds

Burning time: 3 min.: 41 sec.

:Strap-on Solids' Three Castor . and thr-eeCastor !I rockets


produced by the Thiokol Chemrical Corp..
Height: 24 feet.

Diameter: 31 'inches ,

Propellants: Solid - -.

Weight: 9,'2O pounds (Castor-I)


9,900 pounds :(Castor-II)Y-

+ time:-
'Burning -40 sec. (Castor)- ,
:' , ~39 see. (Castdr-ii) ,: ,,

Second Stag3e Produced by the McDonnell Dougldis Corp. utilizing


the Aerojet General'Corp., propulsion system; major contractbrs
for the .autopilot include Minneapolis--Hbneywell, 'Inc., Texas
Instruments, Inc., and Electro-solids Corp.
Height: 13 feet

Diameter: 4 feet 7 inches

Propellants: Liquid, Unsymmeetrical.Dimethyl


Hydrozine (UDMH) for the fuel
and. Inhibited Red Fuming.Nitrid
Acid (IFNA) for the oxidizer.

Thrust: ,7,800 pounds

Weight: 13,000 pounds

BUrning.time: First burn - 6 min. 4 'sec..


Second burn - 13 sec.

-more-
-23-.

I-A I. H 0pi C ( P

H H r04

'~F4 III
~
4) /))
A 0 () 0 H1
i-i- 0 0) 0

\0 Oy - .C
\\1 co ~ H

(0 ~U)t4HA .A.

~tC)
Hr '14' '

00

14W
I)U QI)
v-G (0) 0, 0 .0

00
V4

* r'4. Q

ro C) U Ut) )O C) C wO
-
- S
0'
-
a.
.I0H 0 0 0)
or
0)1i.
H.
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)- rs +1

O- U.

H .)r k k (i' (

0) 0
U-) Ef)~r:- w *,Iux I fro
44 (

0.0moreC-0
-24-

TIROS-M.PROJECT TEAM

NASA HEADQUARTERS
Dr. John E.Naugie , Associate Administrator for Space
'Science and Applicat.ions
Dr.'Jodhn M..DeNoyer Director, Earth Observations Programs
Michael L. Garbacz. Program Mahager, .Operational
Meteorological Satellites,
..Joseph B. Mahon . Director, Launch Vehicle and
, xPropulsion Programs '
T...Gillam.. Delta-Program Manager,

GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER

PDr. John F., Clark 'Director' .


Herbert I. Butler . Chief, Operational Satellites Office
Willi-am W. Jones' TOS (TIROS-M) Proje6ct Manager
Charles M. Hunter TOS (TIROS-M) Spacecraft Manager
Robert R. Golden , Head, FlightOperatibns
.John J. Over . Head, Technical Staff
William Schindler . Delta Project Manager

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER,:


Dr.-'Kurt H. Debts , Director
Robert H. Gray Assistant Director for Unmanned.
Launch Operations
W. C. Thacker . Delt'a Operations Manager,xWT.
Henry R. Van Goey . Chief,, KSC Unmanneu Launch
* Operations,.WTR

INDUSTRY
E. W. Bonnett Delta Project Manager,.
McDonnell Douglas Corp.
McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Ct.
Huntington Beach, Calif.

Abraham Schnapf TIROS/ESSA Project Manager


RCA-Corporatio;.
Astro-Electronics Division
Princeton, N. J.

-more-
0-

-25-

.' 'PRIME CONTRACTORS

COMPANY * ., RESPONSIBILITY.

RCA Corporation Spacecraft Cameras- , ' :


Astro-Llectronics Division , Realtime transmitters
Princeton, N. J.., Dynwsmies Systems including..-
. momentum wheel- (Pitchicontrol'-;
stibsystem') ,
Command and:Control '

Sgacecraft- integratio'n'and test,,-,


and launch support.
McDonnell-Douglas'Corp. .. .. Delta:Launch Vehic'le:..
Hunti'ngton Beach, Calif.

MAJOR .SUB-CONTRACTORS" . . '. -


...

Santa Barbara Research .Sc anning Radiometers, -


Center~
Subsidiary of Hughes:
Aireraft'Co.. ' . , . . r

Santa.5arbara, Califf.
Teledyne S-Band transmitters,
Subcarrier bscillators .
,- Telemetry commut,,ators ., . '-

RCA Beacon'transmitters
Camden, N. J.
Gulton . . DC-DC'converters . /

Texas Instruments Solar:cells


Dall~at,,Texas
General Electric Co. . .Battery cells

aircYl.ld-Hiller
d Integrated CircIlits ' .. ,

UlniJersity of Wisconsin Flat Plate Radiometer' (FPR)

Johtis 'lopkins University Solar Proton Monitor


Applied Physics. Laboratory
Baltimore

-end-

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