TIROS-2
Encyclopedia
TIROS 2 was a spin-stabilized meteorological satellite. It was the second in a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellite. TIROS 2 was launched on 11 November 1960 at 6:13 a.m., by a Thor-Delta
rocket from Cape Canaveral
, Florida
. The spacecraft functioned nominally until 22 January 1961. The satellite orbited the Earth once every 98 minutes, at an inclination of 48.5°. Its perigee
was 609 kilometres (328.8 nmi) and apogee was 742 kilometres (400.6 nmi).
The satellite maintained a spin rate of 8-12 rpm by the use of five diametrically opposed pairs of small, solid-fuel thrusters
. The spin axis could be oriented to within 1-2° accuracy by the use of a magnetic attitude control device, consisting of 250 cores of wire wound around the outer surface of the spacecraft. The interaction between the induced magnetic field in the spacecraft and the earth's magnetic field provided the necessary torque for attitude control. The spacecraft functioned nominally until 22 January 1961.
TIROS 2 was powered by 9000 1-by-2-cm silicon
solar cells. It had two independent television camera subsystems for taking pictures of cloud cover, plus a five-channel medium-resolution scanning radiometer and a two channel non-scanning low resolution radiometer for measuring radiation from the earth and its atmosphere.
Thor-Delta
The Thor-Delta, also known as Delta DM-19 or just Delta was an early American expendable launch system used for 12 orbital launches in the early 1960s. A derivative of the Thor-Able, it was a member of the Thor family of rockets, and the first member of the Delta family.The first stage was a Thor...
rocket from Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. The spacecraft functioned nominally until 22 January 1961. The satellite orbited the Earth once every 98 minutes, at an inclination of 48.5°. Its perigee
Perigee
Perigee is the point at which an object makes its closest approach to the Earth.. Often the term is used in a broader sense to define the point in an orbit where the orbiting body is closest to the body it orbits. The opposite is the apogee, the farthest or highest point.The Greek prefix "peri"...
was 609 kilometres (328.8 nmi) and apogee was 742 kilometres (400.6 nmi).
The satellite maintained a spin rate of 8-12 rpm by the use of five diametrically opposed pairs of small, solid-fuel thrusters
Rocket engine
A rocket engine, or simply "rocket", is a jet engineRocket Propulsion Elements; 7th edition- chapter 1 that uses only propellant mass for forming its high speed propulsive jet. Rocket engines are reaction engines and obtain thrust in accordance with Newton's third law...
. The spin axis could be oriented to within 1-2° accuracy by the use of a magnetic attitude control device, consisting of 250 cores of wire wound around the outer surface of the spacecraft. The interaction between the induced magnetic field in the spacecraft and the earth's magnetic field provided the necessary torque for attitude control. The spacecraft functioned nominally until 22 January 1961.
TIROS 2 was powered by 9000 1-by-2-cm silicon
Silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. A tetravalent metalloid, it is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon, the nonmetal directly above it in the periodic table, but more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table...
solar cells. It had two independent television camera subsystems for taking pictures of cloud cover, plus a five-channel medium-resolution scanning radiometer and a two channel non-scanning low resolution radiometer for measuring radiation from the earth and its atmosphere.