The American Weather Satellite marks Golden Anniversary

America's first weather satellite soared into space and recorded the historic first images of planet earth fifty years ago this week.

On April 1, 1960, a Thor-Able rocket leapt from a deserted launch pad 17-A at 6:40 am EST, and into the history books from Cape Canaveral with the country's first weather eye on the sky.

The rocket climbed high at a fast rate as it carried the 270 pound cylindrical payload into earth orbit.

The Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS-1) arrived into a 450 mile-high orbit hours later, and by that evening was powered up and transmitting the first images of our home planet from space.

TIROS-1 was a first of it's kind as it carried two television cameras to return nearly 23,000 grainy black and white images of cloud formations. However, it was these ghostly images which gave scientists their first visual views of how weather systems moved across the globe as they received several images at a time from it's on board recorder.

TIROS was a true test-bed for future observation satellites. It carried one wide angle and one telephoto lens to capture different views of the changing weather patterns. NOAA states that the wide angle could capture a 750-mile field of the planet.

The images were then received at two locations, Hawaii and New Jersey, and were known as Command and Data Acquisition stations.

Over the two stations, engineers would snap several images and down link the recorded images stored on a 400-foot reel of tape. Once received, the images were then placed on 35-mm film and distributed to the U.S. weather bureau near Wahington, DC.

Engineers had hoped that the drum shaped satellite would last four months, and were riding a spirit of mixed feelings when it stopped operating due to an electrical failure on June 15 after only 78 days of service.

The spacecraft had several tiny thrusters which helped maintain it's spin of around 12 rpm as it soared in low earth orbit. Without the thrusters, TRIOS' spin would be greater and the images returned to earth would have been very blurry.

The 88-foot tall white Thor DM18 Able-II rocket was made up of two stages, Thor and Able.

The Thor main stage's engine was fueled by a RP-1 and liquid oxygen mix, and burned for just shy of three minutes.

The Able second stage burned a single AJ-10 engine for nearly two minutes with a fuel mixture of nitric acid and Dimethylhydrazine.

The April 1st launch would be the last of the Thor-Able combination.

Sister satellite, TIROS-2, was later launched later that November and would last only eight weeks due to a failure.

Delta IV primed to launch new weather satellite

A new American weather satellite is ready to begin a decade long mission next week to photograph and study our planet and the effects solar weather has upon our big blue marble.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA are responsible for the GOES-P meteorological satellite which will be used to take high resolution detailed images of the planet's weather systems, and use computer generated data to make a more accurate forecast on expected weather trends.

Launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV is set for Wednesday, March 3 at 6:17pm EST (2317 GMT) -- the beginning of a one hour launch window -- from space launch complex 37-B here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Lift-off was targeted for two days earlier, however a flight readiness meeting on Feb. 26th pointed out the need to replace a solid rocket motor's steering control valve. And, on Monday, the ground crew needed extra time to replace a quick disconnect valve in a fuel line.

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite -P will make observations of 60% of the earth's surface, including all of the western hemisphere from it's perch 22,300 miles above the equator.

Among the several instruments on board the GOES P is the Solar X-ray Imager. The SXI is an x-ray telescope which will monitor solar activity and it's effects on earth. The telescope will take a detailed image of the Sun each minute for analysis. This will help in early detection of huge solar flares which can interfere with radio and television broadcasts.

The Space Environment Monitor is a multi-instrument space weather detection device on the weather satellite, and will assist in special space weather forecasts for astronauts on the International Space Station and high altitude aircraft and jets.

This latest GOES satellite arrived at the Kennedy Space Center, touching down aboard a military cargo craft from it's manufacturing plant in California on December 17th.

The payload was then transferred west across the Indian River into Titusville and the AstroTech Facility for prelaunch preparations.

At launch, the Delta IV's main stage RS-68 engine will ignite followed by its twin solid fueled boosters as the spacecraft begins it's trip to orbit.

Launching in a flight azimuth of 95 degrees, the Delta IV will travel toward the east-southeast away from the Cape.

Following an on time launch, the twin boosters will burn out and then separate from the core booster at 6:20:40 pm, as it travels 17 miles above the coral waters 13 miles off Florida's coastline.

Spacecraft separation is planned for 10:40:26 pm later that evening.

In June 2009,the GOES-O launched from Cape Canaveral aboard a Delta IV.