Tiros 1 Weather Satellite
The first television picture sent from space by tiros 1 showed the coast of maine and canada s maritime provinces.
Tiros 1 weather satellite. Then on april 1 1960 nasa launched the television infrared observation satellite tiros 1 the world s first successful weather satellite weighing approximately 270 pounds and carrying two television cameras and two video recorders the satellite provided weather forecasters their first ever view of cloud formations as they developed around the globe. The first image from the satellite was a fuzzy picture of thick bands and clusters of clouds over the united states. Launched april 1 1960 nasa s first satellite designed to determine if earth could be studied from space was tiros 1. The mission managed and operated by nasa s goddard space flight center was a spiritual predecessor to today s expansive earth observing satellite fleet.
Technological improvements integrated into the. Weather satellite tiros n noaa program 1978 1986. Although the satellite operated for only 78 days tiros 1 sent back 19 389 usable pictures proving the worth of weather observing satellites to the world and opening the door for the weather systems of the future. Tiros proved extremely successful providing the first accurate weather forecasts based on data gathered from space.
Tiros or television infrared observation satellite is a series of early weather satellites launched by the united states beginning with tiros 1 in 1960. Within three months tiros 1 generated over 23 000 images of earth and its atmosphere providing an. On april 1 1960 a satellite designed by the radio corporation of america rca launched to become the nation s first weather satellite. Tiros in full television and infra red observation satellite any of a series of u s.
Tiros was the first satellite that was capable of remote sensing of the earth enabling scientists to view the earth from a new perspective. The tiros n noaa program television infrared operational satellite next generation was nasa s next step in improving the operational capability of the tiros system first tried in the 1960 s and the itos noaa system of the 1970 s. Equipped with specially designed miniature television cameras infrared detectors and videotape recorders they were able to provide global weather. The world s first experimental weather satellite tiros 1 was launched.
Weather forecasting was deemed the most promising application of space based observations. Nasa launches the first weather satellite tiros 1 from cape. The tiros 1 program s first priority was the development of a meteorological satellite information system.