On May 17, 1974, NASA launched the first Synchronous Meteorological Satellite, SMS-1.
This was the first satellite designed to monitor meteorological conditions from a geostationary orbit. This kind of orbit allowed it to stay above a fixed location as Earth rotates. One of the instruments on this spacecraft was a visible infrared spin-scan radiometer (VISSR), which provided high-quality cloudcover data 24 hours a day. It also carried a data collection and transmission system that allowed it to relay data from central weather facilities to smaller regional stations. Another device known as a space environmental monitor measured the charged particles in Earth’s radiation belts and the solar wind. The satellite was shaped like a cylinder and measured about 7.5 feet long, not including a 33-inch magnetometer that stuck out of one end. It launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta rocket and remained operational for about 7 years. It was replaced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s new GOES satellite, which was almost identical.
This was the first satellite designed to monitor meteorological conditions from a geostationary orbit. This kind of orbit allowed it to stay above a fixed location as Earth rotates. One of the instruments on this spacecraft was a visible infrared spin-scan radiometer (VISSR), which provided high-quality cloudcover data 24 hours a day. It also carried a data collection and transmission system that allowed it to relay data from central weather facilities to smaller regional stations. Another device known as a space environmental monitor measured the charged particles in Earth’s radiation belts and the solar wind. The satellite was shaped like a cylinder and measured about 7.5 feet long, not including a 33-inch magnetometer that stuck out of one end. It launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta rocket and remained operational for about 7 years. It was replaced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s new GOES satellite, which was almost identical.
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TechTranscript
00:00 On this day in space.
00:03 On May 17, 1974, NASA launched the first synchronous meteorological satellite, SMS-1.
00:10 This was the first satellite designed to monitor meteorological conditions from a geostationary orbit.
00:15 This kind of orbit allowed it to stay above a fixed location as Earth rotates.
00:20 One of the instruments in the spacecraft was a visible infrared spin-scan radiometer,
00:25 which provided high-quality cloud cover data 24 hours a day.
00:29 It also carried a data collection and transmission system that allowed it to relay data from central weather facilities to smaller regional stations.
00:37 Another device, known as a space environmental monitor, measured the charged particles in Earth's radiation belts and the solar wind.
00:44 The satellite was shaped like a cylinder and measured about 7.5 feet long, not including a 33-inch magnetometer that stuck out of one end.
00:52 It launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta rocket and remained operational for about seven years.
00:56 It was replaced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's new GOES satellite, which was almost identical.
01:03 And that's what happened on this day in space.
01:06 [ music ]