Nimbus B was a

meteorological 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 g ...

launched as part of the

Nimbus program The Nimbus satellites were second-generation U.S. robotic spacecraft launched between 1964 and 1978 used for meteorological research and development. The spacecraft were designed to serve as stabilized, Earth-oriented platforms for the testing ...

. It was released on May 18, 1968 from the

Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida * Vandenberg Sp ...

Lompoc, California Lompoc ( ; Chumash: ''Lum Poc'') is a city in Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast, Lompoc has a population of 43,834 as of July 2021. Lompoc has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Chumash people, who calle ...

, by means of a

Thor-Agena Thor-Agena was a series of orbital launch vehicles. The launch vehicles used the Douglas-built Thor first stage and the Lockheed-built Agena second stages. They are thus cousins of the more-famous Thor-Deltas, which founded the Delta rocke ...

launch vehicle A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload ( spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and ...

, together with the

SECOR 10 SECOR (Sequential Collation of Ranges) was a series of small United States Armed Forces satellites launched in the 1960s for geodesy measurements that precisely determined the locations of points on the Earth's surface, particularly of isolated i ...

satellite. Nimbus B never achieved orbit because of a malfunction in the booster guidance system forced the destruction of the spacecraft and its payload during launch. The

Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator A radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG, RITEG), sometimes referred to as a radioisotope power system (RPS), is a type of nuclear battery that uses an array of thermocouples to convert the heat released by the decay of a suitable radioacti ...

SNAP-19 RTG was salvaged from the water, refurbished and later flown on

Nimbus 3 Nimbus 3 (also called Nimbus-B2) was a meteorological satellite. It was the third in a series of the Nimbus program. Launch Nimbus 3 was launched on April 14, 1969, by a Thor-Agena rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, CA. The spacecr ...

Instruments

* High Data Rate Storage System (DHRSS) * High and Medium-Resolution Infrared Radiometers (HRIR/MRIR) * Image Dissector

Camera A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a ...

System (IDCS) * Infrared Interferometer

Spectrometer A spectrometer () is a scientific instrument used to separate and measure spectral components of a physical phenomenon. Spectrometer is a broad term often used to describe instruments that measure a continuous variable of a phenomenon where the ...

(IRIS) * Monitor of

Ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation ...

Solar Energy (MUSE) *

(SNAP-19) * Real-time transmission System (RTTS) * Satellite

Infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

(SIRS)

References

1968 in spaceflight Weather satellites of the United States Satellite launch failures {{satellite-stub

Instruments

See also

References