TIROS-3
Appearance
![]() TIROS-3 satellite | |
Mission type | Weather satellite |
---|---|
Operator | NASA |
Harvard designation | 1961 Ro 1 |
COSPAR ID | 1961-017A |
SATCAT no. | 162 |
Mission duration | 6 months |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | TIROS |
Manufacturer | RCA Astro / GSFC |
Launch mass | 129.3 kilograms (285 lb)[1] |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | July 12, 1961, 10:19 LC-17A | UTC
End of mission | |
Last contact | February 28, 1962 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth |
Eccentricity | 0.00489 |
Perigee altitude | 742 kilometers (461 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 812 kilometers (505 mi) |
Inclination | 47.9° |
Period | 100.41 minutes |
Epoch | July 12, 1961 |
Instruments | |
Low Resolution Omnidirectional Radiometer Widefield Radiometer Scanning Radiometer Television Camera System | |
TIROS → |
TIROS-3 (or TIROS-C) was a spin-stabilized
meteorological satellite. It was the third in a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites
.
Launch
TIROS-3 was launched on July 12, 1961, by a
apogee
was 812 kilometers (438 nmi).
Mission
The satellite was in the form of an 18-sided right prism, 107 cm in diameter and 56 cm high. The top and sides of the spacecraft were covered with approximately 9000 1- by 2-cm
silicon solar cells. TIROS-3 was equipped with two independent television camera subsystems for taking cloud cover pictures, plus a two-channel low-resolution radiometer, an omnidirectional radiometer, and a five-channel infrared scanning radiometer. All three radiometers were used for measuring radiation from the Earth and its atmosphere.[3]
The satellite spin rate was maintained between 8 and 12
TV cameras
and protected the five-channel infrared radiometer from prolonged exposure to direct sunlight.
The spacecraft performed normally until August 1961, when the scanning radiometer began to fail. Performance was sporadic until January 23, 1962. It was deactivated on February 28, 1962.[3]
Gallery
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Major components of TIROS-3
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Launch of TIROS-3
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Composite of TIROS-3 pictures. The main cloud mass later developed into Hurricane Anna (17th July 1961)
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Hurricane Anna by TIROS-3 (July 1961)
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Hurricane Esther by TIROS-3 (10th September 1961)
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Images of hurricanes by TIROS-3
References
- ^ "TIROS 3". National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
- ^ a b "TIROS 3 NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1961-017A". NASA. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.