TIROS-2

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TIROS-2
TIROS II Spac0116-repair.jpg
TIROS-2 before launch
Mission type Weather satellite
Operator NASA [1]
Harvard designation1960 Pi 1
COSPAR ID 1960-016A OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
SATCAT no. 63
Mission duration376 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type TIROS
Manufacturer RCA Astro
GSFC
Launch mass127 kilograms (280 lb) [2]
Start of mission
Launch dateNovember 23, 1960, 11:13:03 (1960-11-23UTC11:13:03Z) UTC [3]
Rocket Thor DM-19 Delta
Launch site Cape Canaveral LC-17A
End of mission
Last contactDecember 4, 1961 (1961-12-05)
Decay dateMay 2014
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Semi-major axis 6,755.43 kilometers (4,197.63 mi)
Eccentricity 0.0014596
Perigee altitude 374 kilometers (232 mi)
Apogee altitude 394 kilometers (245 mi)
Inclination 48.51 degrees
Period 92.09 minutes
Epoch December 8, 2013, 11:58:18 UTC [4]
Instruments
Widefield Radiometer
Scanning Radiometer
Television Camera System
  TIROS-1
TIROS-3  

TIROS-2 (or TIROS-B) was a spin-stabilized meteorological satellite. It was the second in a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites. It re-entered in May 2014. [5]

Contents

Spacecraft

TIROS-2 was an 18-sided right prism, 107 cm in diameter and 56 cm high, [2] with 9,260 [1] 1 by 2 cm silicon solar cells covered the top and sides. Five small directly opposed pairs of solid-fuel thrusters maintained a spin of 8 to 12 rpm. [2] For attitude control, the spacecraft used an infrared horizon sensor [1] and an magnetic attitude control device, made of 250 cores of wire wound around the outer surface, which oriented the spin axis to a 1 to 2 degree accuracy. [2] It also had a direction indicator for picture orientation. [1]

The satellite had two independent television camera subsystems, one low-resolution and one high-resolution, for taking pictures of cloud cover. Each camera had a magnetic tape recorder for storing photographs while out of range of the ground station network. [1] It also had a five-channel medium-resolution scanning radiometer and a two channel non-scanning low resolution radiometer for measuring radiation from the earth and atmosphere. [2]

Launch

TIROS-2 was launched on November 23, 1960 at 11:13:03 UTC, by a Thor-Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft functioned nominally until January 22, 1962. The satellite orbited the Earth once every 98 minutes, at an inclination of 48.5°. Its perigee was 609 kilometers (329 nmi) and apogee was 742 kilometers (401 nmi).

The spacecraft functioned nominally until January 22, 1961.

Instruments

TIROS 2 added two infrared radiometers to TIROS 1 instruments, which allowed more analysis of frontal zones. [6]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "TIROS". science.nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "TIROS 2". National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  3. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  4. "TIROS 2 Satellite details 1960-016A NORAD 63". N2YO. December 8, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  5. "TIROS 2". Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  6. Hawkins, R. S. (October 1, 1964). "Analysis and Interpretation of TIROS II Infrared Radiation Measurements". Journal of Applied Meteorology. 3 (5): 564–572. Bibcode:1964JApMe...3..564H. doi:10.1175/1520-0450(1964)003<0564:aaioti>2.0.co;2. hdl: 2027/mdp.39015095125376 . ISSN   0021-8952.