NSSDCA ID: ITOS-I
ITOS-I was the 3rd in a series of third-generation spacecraft in the National Operational Meteorological Satellite System (NOMSS). The satellite was designed to serve as an economical and stable platform for testing advanced operational subsystems for use in weather analysis and forecasting. Primary sensors included an advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) for observing daytime and nighttime global cloud cover and TIROS operational vertical sounder (TOVS) for obtaining temperature, water vapor, and ozone profiles through the earth's atmosphere. Secondary experiments included the space environment monitor (SEM), which measured the protons and electron flux near the earth and the data collection and platform location system (DCS), which processed and relayed to central data acquisition stations various meteorological data received from free-floating balloons and ocean buoys distributed around the globe. The satellite would have been able to maintain an earth-pointing accuracy of better than plus or minus 1 deg in all three axes, with motion rates of less than 0.035 deg/s. This mission was cancelled.
Launch Date: 1977-07-01
Launch Vehicle: Delta
Launch Site: Vandenberg AFB, United States
Mass: 340.3 kg
Questions and comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Mr. Gilbert A. Branchflower | Project Manager | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | |
Mr. Isidore L. Goldberg | Project Scientist | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | |
Mr. Michael L. Garbacz | Program Manager | NASA Headquarters |