TIROS, or Television InfraRed Observation Satellite, is a series of early

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 ge ...

s launched by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, beginning with

TIROS-1 TIROS-1 (or TIROS-A) was the first full-scale weather satellite (the Vanguard 2 satellite was the first experimental/prototype weather satellite), the first of a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites placed in low Earth orbit. P ...

in 1960. TIROS was the first satellite that was capable of

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Eart ...

of the

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 ...

, enabling scientists to view the Earth from a new perspective: space. The program, promoted by

Harry Wexler Harry Wexler (March 15, 1911 – August 11, 1962) was an American meteorologist, born in Fall River, Massachusetts. Biography Wexler attended Harvard University, and in 1939 he was awarded a Ph.D. in meteorology under Carl-Gustaf Rossby from the ...

, proved the usefulness of satellite weather observation, at a time when military

reconnaissance satellite A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. The ...

s were secretly in development or use. TIROS demonstrated at that time that "the key to genius is often simplicity". TIROS is an acronym of "Television InfraRed Observation Satellite" and is also the plural of "tiro" which means "a young soldier, a beginner". Participants in the TIROS project included the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

), United States Army Signal Research and Development Laboratory, Radio Corporation of America (

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

), the United States Weather Bureau Service, the United States Naval Photographic Interpretation Center (NPIC), the

Environmental Science Services Administration The Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) was a United States Federal executive agency created in 1965 as part of a reorganization of the United States Department of Commerce. Its mission was to unify and oversee the meteorologica ...

(ESSA), and the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

(NOAA).

Description

The satellite was launched into a nearly circular

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...

by a

Thor-Able The Thor-Able was an American expendable launch system and sounding rocket used for a series of re-entry vehicle tests and satellite launches between 1958 and 1960. It was a two-stage rocket, consisting of a Thor IRBM as a first stage and a Vang ...

rocket. Drum-shaped with a 42 inches (110 cm) diameter, and height of 19 inches (48 cm), the TIROS satellite carried two 6 inches (15 cm) long television cameras. One of the cameras had a

wide-angle lens In photography and cinematography, a wide-angle lens refers to a lens whose focal length is substantially smaller than the focal length of a normal lens for a given film plane. This type of lens allows more of the scene to be included in the ...

with an

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

that could view an 800-mile-wide area of the Earth. The other camera had a

telephoto lens A telephoto lens, in photography and cinematography, is a specific type of a long-focus lens in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length. This is achieved by incorporating a special lens group known as a ''telephoto ...

with an aperture and 10- to 12-power magnification compared to the wide angle camera. The satellite itself was stabilized in its orbit by spinning like a

gyroscope A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rota ...

. When it first separated from the rocket's third stage, it was spinning at about 136 revolutions per minute (rpm). To take unblurred photographs, a de-spin mechanism slowed the satellite down to 12 rpm after the orbit was achieved. The camera shutters made possible the series of still pictures that were stored and transmitted back to earth via 2-watt FM transmitters as the satellite approached one of its ground command points. After transmission, the tape was erased or cleaned and readied for more recording.

Series

TIROS continued as the more advanced TIROS Operational System (TOS), and eventually was succeeded by the Improved TIROS Operational System (ITOS) or

TIROS-M TIROS-M, also known as ITOS-1 was a weather satellite operated by the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA). It was part of a series of satellites called ITOS, or improved TIROS. TIROS-M was launched on a Delta rocket on January 23 ...

, and then by the

TIROS-N TIROS-N satellite is the first of the TIROS-N series. It is a weather satellite launched on 13 October 1978. It was designed to become operational during 2 years. Its mass is 734 kilograms. Its perigee to Earth is 829 kilometers. Its apogee is ...

and Advanced TIROS-N series of satellites. NOAA-N Prime (

NOAA-19 NOAA-19, known as NOAA-N' (NOAA-N Prime) before launch, is the last of the American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) series of weather satellites. NOAA-19 was launched on 6 February 2009. NOAA-19 is in an afternoon Sun-sy ...

) is the last in the TIROS series of NOAA satellites that observe Earth's weather and the environment. The naming of the satellites can become confusing because some of them use the same name as the over-seeing organization, such as "ESSA" for TOS satellites overseen by the Environmental Science Services Administration (for example,

ESSA-1 ESSA-1 (or OT-3) was a spin-stabilized operational meteorological satellite. Its name was derived from that of its oversight agency, the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA). Launch ESSA-1 was launched on February 3, 1966, a ...

) and "NOAA" (for example, NOAA-M) for later TIROS-series satellites overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. *

(A): launched on 1 April 1960, suffered electrical system failure on 15 June 1960 *

TIROS-2 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. Spacecraft Tiros-2 was an 18-sided right prism, 107 cm in diameter and ...

(B): launched on 23 November 1960, failed on 22 January 1961 *

TIROS-3 TIROS 3 (or TIROS-C) was a spin-stabilized meteorological satellite. It was the third in a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellite, Television Infrared Observation Satellites. Launch TIROS 3 was launched on July 12, 1961, by a T ...

(C): launched on 12 July 1961, deactivated on 28 February 1962 *

TIROS-4 TIROS 4 (also called TIROS-D and A9) was a spin-stabilized meteorological satellite. It was the fourth in a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites. Launch TIROS 4 was launched on February 8, 1962, by a Thor-Delta rocket from Ca ...

(D): launched on 8 February 1962, failed on 30 June 1962 (both cameras failed earlier) * TIROS-5 (E): launched on 19 June 1962, failed on 13 May 1963 *

TIROS-6 TIROS 6 (also called TIROS-F) was a spin-stabilized meteorological satellite. It was the sixth in a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites. Launch TIROS 6 was launched on September 18, 1962, by a Thor-Delta rocket from Cape Can ...

(F): launched on 18 September 1962, failed on 21 October 1963 * TIROS-7 (G): launched on 19 June 1963, deactivated on 3 June 1968 *

TIROS-8 TIROS-8 (also called TIROS-H or A-53) was a spin-stabilized meteorological satellite. It was the eighth in a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites. Launch TIROS-8 was launched on December 21, 1963, by a Thor-Delta rocket from C ...

(H): launched on 23 December 1963, deactivated on 1 July 1967 *

TIROS-9 TIROS-9 (also called TIROS-I or A-54) was a spin-stabilized meteorological satellite. It was the ninth in a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites. Launch TIROS-9 was launched on January 22, 1965, by a Thor-Delta rocket from Cap ...

(I): launched on 22 January 1965, failed on 15 February 1967. First Tiros satellite in near-polar orbit * TIROS-10 (OT-1): launched on 2 July 1965, deactivated on 1 July 1967. As of June 2009, all TIROS satellites launched between 1960 and 1965 (with the exception of TIROS-7) were still in orbit.

TIROS Operational System

(OT-3) *

ESSA-2 ESSA-2 (or OT-2) was a spin-stabilized operational meteorological satellite. Its name was derived from that of its oversight agency, the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA). Launch ESSA-2 was launched on February 28, 1966, a ...

(OT-2) *

ESSA-3 ESSA-3 (or TOS-A) was a spin-stabilized operational meteorological satellite. Its name was derived from that of its oversight agency, the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA). Launch ESSA-3 was launched on October 2, 1966, at ...

(TOS-A) *

ESSA-4 ESSA-4 (or TOS-B) was a spin-stabilized operational meteorological satellite. Its name was derived from that of its oversight agency, the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA). Background ESSA 4 was launched to replace ESSA 2 ...

(TOS-B) *

ESSA-5 ESSA-5 (or TOS-C) was a spin-stabilized operational meteorological satellite. Its name was derived from that of its oversight agency, the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA). Launch ESSA-5 was launched on April 20, 1967, at 11: ...

(TOS-C) *

ESSA-6 ESSA-6 (or TOS-D) was a spin-stabilized operational meteorological satellite. Its name was derived from that of its oversight agency, the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA). Launch ESSA-6 was launched on November 10, 1967, at ...

(TOS-D) *

ESSA-7 ESSA-7 (or TOS-E) was a spin-stabilized operational meteorological satellite. Its name was derived from that of its oversight agency, the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA). Launch ESSA-7 was launched on August 16, 1968, at 11 ...

(TOS-E) *

ESSA-8 ESSA-8 was a weather satellite launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on December 15, 1968, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Its name was derived from that of its oversight agency, the Environmental Scienc ...

(TOS-F) *

ESSA-9 ESSA-9, also known as TOS-G, was a meteorological satellite. Its name was derived from that of its oversight agency, the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA). ESSA-9 replaced the ESSA-7 satellite. Launch and orbit ESSA-9 was la ...

(TOS-G)

ITOS/TIROS-M

(ITOS-1): launched on 23 January 1970 *

NOAA-1 NOAA-1, also known as ITOS-A was a weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It was part of a series of satellites called ITOS, or improved TIROS. NOAA-1 was launched on a Delta rocket Delta is ...

(ITOS-A): launched on 11 December 1970 *

ITOS-B NOAA-1 was a weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It was part of a series of satellites called ITOS, or improved TIROS. ITOS-B was released on October 21, 1971, from the Vandenberg Air Force Ba ...

launched on 21 October 1971, unusable orbit *

ITOS-C TIROS, or Television InfraRed Observation Satellite, is a series of early weather satellites launched by the United States, beginning with TIROS-1 in 1960. TIROS was the first satellite that was capable of remote sensing of the Earth, enablin ...

NOAA-2 NOAA-2, also known as ITOS-D was a weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It was part of a series of satellites called ITOS, or improved TIROS. NOAA-2 was launched on a Delta rocket on October 15 ...

(ITOS-D): launched on 15 October 1972 *

ITOS-E ITOS-E was a weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It was part of a series of satellites called ITOS, or improved TIROS. ITOS-E was released on July 16, 1973, from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, ...

launched on 16 July 1973, failed to orbit *

NOAA-3 NOAA-3, also known as ITOS-F was a weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It was part of a series of satellites called ITOS, or improved TIROS TIROS, or Television InfraRed Observation Sat ...

(ITOS-F): launched on 6 November 1973 *

NOAA-4 NOAA-4, also known as ITOS-G was a weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It was part of a series of satellites called ITOS, or improved TIROS TIROS, or Television InfraRed Observation Sat ...

(ITOS-G): launched on 15 November 1974 *

NOAA-5 NOAA-5, also known as ITOS-H was a weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It was part of a series of satellites called ITOS, or improved TIROS, being the last of the series. NOAA-5 was launched o ...

(ITOS-H): launched 29 July 1976

TIROS-N

(Proto-flight): Launched 13 October 1978 into a 470- nmi orbit; deactivated on 27 February 1981. * NOAA-6 (NOAA-A prior to launch): Launched 27 June 1979 into a 450-nmi orbit. The HIRS, a primary mission sensor, failed 19 September 1983. The satellite exceeded its two-year designed lifetime by almost six years when deactivated on 31 March 1987. *

NOAA-B NOAA B was an American operational weather satellite for use in the National Operational Environmental Satellite System (NOESS) and for the support of the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP) during 1978-1984. The satellite design provide ...

: Launched 29 May 1980. It failed to achieve a usable orbit because of a booster engine anomaly. *

NOAA-7 NOAA-7, known as NOAA-C before launch, was an American operational weather satellite for use in the National Operational Environmental Satellite System (NOESS) and for the support of the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP) during 1978-19 ...

(C): Launched 23 June 1981 into a 470-nmi orbit; deactivated June 1986. *

NOAA-12 NOAA-12, also known as NOAA-D before launch, was an American weather satellite operated by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an operational meteorological satellite for use in the National Environmental Satellite, Data, an ...

(D): Launched 14 May 1991 into a 450-nmi AM orbit, out of sequence (see below). Placed in standby mode on 14 December 1998, when NOAA-15 became operational and deactivated on 10 August 2007, setting an extended lifetime record of over sixteen years.

Advanced TIROS-N

The Advanced TIROS-N (ATN) spacecraft were similar to the NOAA-A through -D satellites, apart from an enlarged Equipment Support Module to allow integration of additional payloads. A change from the TIROS-N through NOAA-D spacecraft was that spare word locations in the low bit rate data system TIROS Information Processor (TIP) was used for special instruments such as the

Earth Radiation Budget Satellite The Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) is a NASA scientific research satellite within NASA's ERBE (Earth Radiation Budget Experiment) Research Program - a three-satellite mission, designed to investigate the Earth radiation budget. It also ...

(ERBE) and

SBUV/2 The Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer, or SBUV/2, is a series of operational remote sensors on NOAA weather satellites in Sun-synchronous orbits which have been providing global measurements of stratospheric total ozone, as well as ozone pr ...

. The search and rescue (SAR) system became independent, utilizing a special frequency for transmission of data to the ground. *

NOAA-8 NOAA-8, known as NOAA-E before launch, was an American weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for use in the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS). It was first ...

(E): Launched 28 March 1983 into a orbit, out of sequence (before NOAA-D) to get the first SAR system on a US satellite operational. Deactivated 29 December 1985, following a

thermal runaway Thermal runaway describes a process that is accelerated by increased temperature, in turn releasing energy that further increases temperature. Thermal runaway occurs in situations where an increase in temperature changes the conditions in a way t ...

which destroyed a battery. *

NOAA-9 NOAA-9, known as NOAA-F before launch, was an American weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for use in the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS). It was the ...

(F): Launched 12 December 1984 into 470 nmi "afternoon" orbit and was the first satellite to carry an

instrument. It was deactivated on 1 August 1993 but was reactivated three weeks later, after the failure of NOAA-13. The SARR transmitter failed on 18 December 1997 and the satellite was permanently deactivated on 13 February 1998. *

NOAA-10 NOAA-10, known as NOAA-G before launch, was an American weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for use in the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS). It was the t ...

(G): Launched 17 September 1986 into a 450 nmi "morning" orbit. Placed in standby mode on 17 September 1991 (when NOAA-12 became operational) and deactivated on 30 August 2001. *

NOAA-11 NOAA-11, known as NOAA-H before launch, was an American weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for use in the National Operational Environmental Satellite System (NOESS) and for support of the G ...

(H): Launched 24 September 1988 into a 470 nmi PM orbit. Placed in standby mode in March 1995 and was reactivated in May 1997 to provide soundings after an HIRS anomaly on NOAA-12. Decommissioned 16 June 2004. *

NOAA-13 NOAA-13, also known as NOAA-I before launch, was an American weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA-I continued the operational, polar orbiting, meteorological satellite series operated by ...

(I): Launched 9 August 1993 into a 470 nmi PM orbit; two weeks after launch the spacecraft suffered a catastrophic power system anomaly. Attempts to contact or command the spacecraft were unsuccessful. *

NOAA-14 NOAA-14, also known as NOAA-J before launch, was an American weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA-14 continued the third-generation operational, Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite (PO ...

(J): Launched 30 December 1994 into a 470 nmi PM orbit and decommissioned 23 May 2007 after more than twelve years of operation. *

NOAA-15 NOAA-15, also known as NOAA-K before launch, is an operational, polar-orbiting of the NASA-provided Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS) series of weather forecasting satellite operated by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra ...

(K): Launched 13 May 1998 into a 450 nmi morning orbit and replaced NOAA-12 on 14 December 1998, as the primary AM spacecraft. Now secondary, with MetOp-B as the AM primary. *

NOAA-16 NOAA-16, also known as NOAA-L before launch, was an operational, polar orbiting, weather satellite series (NOAA K-N) operated by the National Environmental Satellite Service (NESS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). N ...

(L): Launched 21 September 2000 into a 470-nmi afternoon orbit; replaced NOAA-14 on 19 March 2001, as the primary AM spacecraft. Decommissioned on 9 June 2014 due to major spacecraft anomaly. *

NOAA-17 NOAA-17, also known as NOAA-M before launch, was an operational, polar orbiting, weather satellite series (NOAA K-N) operated by the National Environmental Satellite Service (NESS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). N ...

(M): Launched 24 June 2002 into a 450 nmi AM orbit and decommissioned 10 April 2013. *

NOAA-18 NOAA-18, also known as NOAA-N before launch, is an operational, polar orbiting, weather satellite series (NOAA K-N) operated by the National Environmental Satellite Service (NESS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NO ...

(N): Launched 20 May 2005 into a 470 nmi afternoon orbit and replaced NOAA-16 as the PM primary spacecraft on 30 August 2005. *

(N Prime): Launched 6 February 2009 into a 470 nmi afternoon orbit and replaced NOAA-18 as the PM primary spacecraft on 2 June 2009.

References

External links

NASA page on TIROS

NASA Goddard POES Program - POES Home

* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe4jGbbXnvw&feature=channel NASA's YouTube video of TIROS-1 {{TIROS *