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ATS-1 (Applications Technology Satellite 1) was the first experimental
geostationary satellite, launched in 1966. Though intended as a
communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth ...
rather than as a
weather satellite
A weather satellite or meteorological satellite is a type of Earth observation satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites can be polar orbiting (covering the entire Earth asynchronously), or ...
, it carried the Spin Scan Cloud Camera developed by
Verner E. Suomi and
Robert Parent at the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
. After entering an
orbit
In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as ...
at above
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, initially in orbit over
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
, it transmitted
weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloud cover, cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmos ...
images from the Western Hemisphere, as well as other data, to ground stations, including well as
video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syst ...
feeds for
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting beg ...
.
It took one of the
first pictures of the Earth's full-disk (the first from a geostationary orbit), on December 11, 1966.
"For the first time," historians would note later, "rapid-imaging of nearly an entire hemisphere was possible. We could watch, fascinated, as storm systems developed and moved and were captured in a time series of images. Today such images are an indispensable part of weather analysis and forecasting."
It was the first satellite to use
frequency-division multiple access
Frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) is a channel access method used in some multiple-access protocols. FDMA allows multiple users to send data through a single communication channel, such as a coaxial cable or microwave beam, by dividing ...
which accepted multiple independent signals and downlinked them in a single carrier. The spacecraft measured in diameter, high and weighed .
[Missions – ATS – NASA Science]
/ref>
The ATS-1 satellite was used during the 1967 international television broadcast '' Our World'', providing a link between the United States and Australia during the program.
The ATS-1 would remain operational for more than 18 years, until April, 1985.
Features
This satellite was cylindrical, with a diameter of and a height of ; an additional in height was the engine cover. The surface was covered with solar panels, and the whole satellite was stabilized by rotation.
Instruments
A total of fifteen experiments were conducted during the mission:Experiment Search Results
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
NSSDC Master Catalog. Retrieved 2016-22-05.
* Suprathermal Ion Detector
* Biaxial Fluxgate
Magnetometer
* Omnidirectional Spectrometer
* Electron Spectrometer
* Particle Telescope
* Solar Cell Radiation Damage
* Thermal Coating Degradation
* Rate Range Beacon
* Spin-Scan Camera cloudcover
* Microwave communication transponder
* Communication VHF transponder
* Nutation sensor
* Resist-Jet Thruster
* Faraday Rotation
* Meteorological Data Relay System
References
Spacecraft launched in 1966
Weather satellites of the United States
Communications satellites of the United States
Applications Technology Satellites
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