Presented by: Louie D’Amico

April 1st, 1960Launching of the first weather satellite

How was the launching of the first weather satellite significant; and how can we use it as a lens to look into the satellites we have today and their affects on our lives?

Research Question

Launched on April 1st, 1960

Name: TIROS-1

Television Infa-Red Observation Satellite

Launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida

Polar satellite

Passes (close enough) over the north and south pole during its orbit

Launching the first weather satellite

Made of aluminum and stainless steal

42” diameter, 19” high

270 lbs

9,200 solar cells

2 TV cameras

1 hi-resolution

1 low-resolution

5 Antennae

1 received control signals from Earth

4 sent TV images to Earth

What was the first weather satellite?

“One of the nations largest and most prestigious electronic firms”

Planning began in 1955

Radio Corporation of America (RCA)

The leading TV makers

Fitting to make a satellite with 2 TVs on it

They couldn’t handle it

Who built this thing?

Lavelle helped outIn 1957 the project was turned over to Tomas Lavelle and the Lavelle company

Maker of precision aircraft during WWII

Abandoned RCA

Turned in a completed satellite in 1959

RCA then put their 2 TVs on

It was ready for launch

Lavelle Aircraft’s factory was in Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Guess What!

It took pictures of the Earth

that’s about it…

It was in the orbit for 78 days

only because it suffered a power failure on day 77

It was claimed to be there to study weather patterns

which it took 22,952 pictures of

After discussion with my uncle…

What did the first weather satellite do?

Russians launched Sputnik-1

1957

“Designed to shoot innocent Americans sitting on their front porches”

Due to the ‘Red Scare’ Americans wear terrified of the fact that Russia was in Space

…Was it a spy satellite?

What Sputnik-1 looked like

What Americans thought it looked like

America

lasers

Was TIROS-1’s underlying objective to spy on Soviets?

No… TIROS-1 was not a spy satellite

It opened the door to reconnaissance space technology

In 1956 planning had begun for reconnaissance space technology

3 sections

CORONA

Took pictures and shot the developed copies out of orbit

SAMOS

Photos would be sent back via radio signals

Closest to real-time

Images received within 90 minutes

MIDAS

Missile Defense Alarm System

Warned US of a missile attack

August 17, 1960The first successful reconnaissance flight takes place

Discovered 64 air bases and 26 new SAM sites within the Soviet Union

Photos taken by satellite “Discovery 14” part of CORONA program

1 week later, when Eisenhower saw the pictures, the NRO was started

Who was in charge of this stuff?National Reconnaissance office (NRO)

Secret organization funded by the CIA

Worked under the Air Force’s Office of Space Systems in the Pentagon

Responsible for all U.S. reconnaissance satellites

As well as the development of modern U-2 and SR-71A spy planes

The public did not know about the organization until September 18th, 1992

The “blackest” (most secret) organization in the military at the time

Now back to the weather…

TIROS-1 videoStart at 1:24

http://en.sevenload.com/shows/NASA-Goddard-Shorts/episodes/bd2PPf3-TIROS-1-The-Forecast-Revolution-Begins

TIROS-1 proved the feasibility of an “eye in the sky”

Helped weathermen create more accurate forecasts

Before TIROS-1 weathermen compiled data taken from various ground locations for their forecasts

Not very accurate

Helped to better understand weather patterns and storm systems

Now that you’ve all waken up…

What’s this…?

“Before the (first) weather satellite, nobody had any idea what a hurricane (or any storm) looked like” –James Greaves, administrator at NASA

Shows how clueless people were beforehand

Hurricanes used to hit ‘out-of-the-blue’

Puerto Rico called after they got hit

U.S. informed Florida

No other early warning

TIROS changed that

…a hurricane

TIROS-1 proved that a weather observation was possible

If it weren’t for this and the hype of the space race who knows how long it would have been before a satellite was launched

This would put back the advancements in meteorology and many other things

Why does this matter?

How many people checked the weather this morning?

How many used their cell phone or SATELLITE TV?

Did the report influence your planning for the day?

So, there you have it

So what?

A look at life after the first weather satellite.

The First one worked…now what?

Modern Polar Operational Enviromental Satellites (POES)Similar in concept to TIROS satellites

Fly at low altitude

Pass over the poles in orbit

Takes a lot of coverage

Good for mapping and weather

Modern POES- TIROS-NLaunched in 2009

Last of the TIROS original POES program (TIROS)

TIROS program to be replaced in 2013

Orbits every 102 minutes

TIROS-1 orbited every 90 minutes

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES)Evolved from POES

Positioned to orbit around the same point on Earth

usually in a band around the Equator

Average altitude– 22,223 miles

1/10 the distance to the moon

Modern GOES- GOES-NNewest geostationary satellite in orbit

Monitor weather patterns

Provide information on environmental “triggers” for sever weather

Congestion in the parking lotThe band around the Equator is know as the “Satellite parking

lot

It is filling up

All communication and TV satellites are Geostationary

A couple more huge breakthroughs

Global Positioning Systems (GPS)

Use satellites to pinpoint your location on the Earth

Helpful when driving and are often built into cars

Also are available handheld to access ones exact geographic location

Emergency BeaconsAlso have GPS’s that send emergency ‘beacon’ (signals) to

satellites when in distress

Trapped in woods hunting

Trapped in mountains hiking

Trapped anywhere

To date

30,000+ people saved

since 1982

Answering the Research QuestionQ: How was the launching of the first weather

satellite significant; and how can we use it as a lens to look into the modern satellites we have today and their affects on our lives?

A: The first weather satellite opened the door to modern Space observation technology. Through the original TIROS satellites to the modern POES and GOES, it has been the starting point. It has also created some life-saving possibilities as well as some tactical options during war. It also influences the lives of people through satellite TV, cell phones, and GPS.

THE END

Bibliographyhttp://www.astronautix.com/craft/tirosn.htm

http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/

http://science.howstuffworks.com/satellite6.htm

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/goes-n/main/index.html

http://webster.hibo.no/asf/Cold_War/report1/williame.html

http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-2F5

http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/foundations/satellites/welcome.html#polar

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/03/dayintech_0401

http://en.sevenload.com/shows/NASA-Goddard-Shorts/episodes/bd2PPf3-TIROS-1-The-Forecast-Revolution-Begins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md0jc-IaGWA (primary)

Google Images

January 10, 1969 issue of LIFE Magazine (primary)

Interviewed:

Pat Nugent

John Nugent

George Kazas

Dan Bratich

Lou D’Amico

Angela D’Amico