M

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration
A News
Washington. 0.C 20546
AC 202 755-8370

For Release IMMEDIATE

Press Kit
RELEASE NO: 78-132

Contents
GENERAL RELEASE.................................. 7
TIROS-N MISSION.................................. 9
INSTRUMENTATION.................................. 13
SPACECRAFT DESCRIPTION........................... 13 - 15
LAUNCH VEHICLE................................... 15 - 16
FLIGHT SEQUENCE OF EVENTS ......................... 16A
TIROS-N PROJECT COSTS............................ 17
MISSION MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY................ 18
CONTRACTORS ......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Mailed:
September 5, 1978
r n k w s
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
Washington. D C 20546
AC 202 755-8370

Fc Jr Release
Richard McCormack Immediate
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone: 202/755-2070)
Joseph McRoberts
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
-
(Phone: 3 01/9 8 2 5 5 6 6)

RELEASE NO: 78-132

FIRST IN NEW ENVIRONMENTAL SPACECRAFT S E R I E S TO BE LAUNCHED

NASA will launch TIROS-N, the first in a series of new

operational meterological monitoring satellites -- the TIROS-N
series -- from the Western Test Range near Lompoc, Calif.
on Sept. 15.

The first of eight in a third generation of polar

obriting environmental spacecraft, TIROS-N will carry new
environmental monitoring instruments into space that s h o u l d
provide significant technological advances over those on
board the current NOAA series spacecraft they will replace.

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The TIROS-N series w i l l be o p e r a t e d by t h e N a t i o n a l

Oceanic and Atmospheric A d m i n i s t r a t i o n ' s ( N O M ) , National

Environmental S a t e l l i t e S e r v i c e s (NESS). S u p p o r t w i l l be

p r o v i d e d by a d a t a r e t r i e v a l and p r o c e s s i n g system e s p e c i a l l y
designed t o h e l p m e t e o r o l o g i s t s , oceanographers, h y d r o l o g i s t s ,

and o t h e r s c i e n t i s t s m a i n t a i n -- and p e r h a p s improve -- the

q u a l i t y of l i f e on an i n c r e a s i n g l y complex E a r t h .

P o t e n t i a l b e n e f i t s a r e : improved w e a t h e r a n a l y s i s

r e s u l t i n g i n more a c c u r a t e w e a t h e r f o r e c a s t s ; more s p e c i f i c

l o c a t i o n of ocean c u r r e n t s and a r e a s of u p w e l l i n g ,

important t o f i s h i n g and s h i p p i n g i n t e r e s t s ; and more

p r e c i s e snowcover, snowmelt, and r a i n f a l l d a t a , e s s e n t i a l

t o w a t e r r e s o u r c e management and f l o o d f o r e c a s t i n g .

I t w i l l a l s o be p o s s i b l e t o g i v e more a c c u r a t e a l e r t s

of h i g h e n e r g y s o l a r r a d i a t i o n l e v e l s above the atmosphere,

of c o n c e r n t o s p a c e m i s s i o n s , h i g h a l t i t u d e commercial
a i r c r a f t f l i g h t s , l o n g - r a n g e communications, and e l e c t r i c a l

power d i s t r i b u t i o n n e t w o r k s ,

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For the first time ever, because of its advanced data

collection and platform location system, the T I R O S - N series
spacecraft will provide an operational capability to
collect and transmit environmental data from platforms on
land, at sea, and airborne, and also determine the
geographic locations of those platforms when they are in
motion on the sea or land surface or aloft.

The sensors are multi-national in character. Each

spacecraft will carry a stratospheric sounding unit from
Great Britain and a data collection and platform location
system from France, while the other sensors were developed
in the United States.

It is the TIROS-N series sensors -- and the systems on

the ground that communicate, process, and deliver the final
products to the ultimate users -- that are of greatest
significance. The scanning radiometer on board, for example,
is the most versatile yet to be carried aboard an
environmental satellite. It is designated to gather, and
store for later playback, visible and infrared measurements

and images in f o u r channels.

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This will permit more precise evaluation of land,

ice, surface water, cloud conditions, and sea surface
temperatures, while also transmitting in r e a l time to
both Automatic Picture Transmission (APT) and High
Resolution Picture Transmission (HRPT) users located in
more than 100 countries around the world.

Similarly, the vertical sounder subsystem, consisting

of three instruments, should give improved temperatures to
within 1 degree C and moisture data from the surface of
the Earth up through the stratosphere. Even in the presence
of obscuring cloud cover, some data are recovered since one
of the three instruments can detect microwave radiation
unaffected by most clouds.

The ground support systems are multi-national also.

The United States will handle acquisition and processing of
most of the data through NOAA Command and Data Acquisition
(CDA) stations near Fairbanks, Alaska,and Wallops Island, Va.,
and a central processing system at Suitland, Md. But the

Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) of France will be

responsible f o r the,processingand distribution associated

with the data collection and platform location system.

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And, the French meteorological service will operate

a special readout station in Lannion, France to gather
atmospheric temperature data from the satellite during
orbits not visible in the U.S.

The TIROS-N system will be a primary source of data

for the First Global Atmospheric Research Program, Global
Experiment, an international cooperative project involving
some 140 countries, scheduled to begin Dec. 1,-1978. Its
instrumentation payload is designed to meet FGGE requirements
for quantitative data of the Earth's atmosphere and sea surface
essential.to the solution of atmospheric numerical models for
improved long-range weather forecasts.

The TIROS-N operational system benefits from experience

in designing NASA's original TIROS (Television Infrared
Observation Satellite) series of 10 research satellites
which began with T I R O S - 1 in 1960.

This series of spacecraft went through a number of

evolutionary stages u n t i l NOAA was satisfied the spacecraft
was ready to go operational and proceeded to fund its own
series.

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I n 1 9 6 6 i t s f i r s t NOAA O p e r a t i o n a l S a t e l l i t e w a s

l a u n c h e d , f o l l o w e d by e i g h t m o r e . T h e Improved TIROS

O p e r a t i o n a l S a t e l l i t e s ( I T O S ) , w i t h advances i n research

and development, were funded and l a u n c h e d by NASA i n

1 9 7 0 - 7 1 and t h e n f i v e s i m i l a r NOAA-funded s a t e l l i t e s

w e r e launched f r o m 1 9 7 0 t o t h e p r e s e n t .

TIROS-N draw h e a v i l y on i n s t r u m e n t t e c h n o l o g y

g a i n e d f r o m N A S A ' s Nimbus s p a c e c r a f t program. The T1ROS-N

bus i s a m o d i f i e d U . S . A i r F o r c e Block 5 D s p a c e c r a f t / b u s ,

d e s i g n e d t o m e e t m i s s i o n r e q u i r e m e n t s and s t i l l have a

growth c a p a b i l i t y of 2 5 p e r c e n t i n payload c a r r y i n g

capability.

TIROS-N w a s d e s i g n e d and funded by NASA and will be

managed d u r i n g i t s checkout p e r i o d ( a p p r o x i m a t e l y t w o months)

by t h e Goddard Space F l i g h t C e n t e r , G r e e n b e l t , Md., b e f o r e

being turned over t o NOM.

TIROS-N w a s d e s i g n e d and b u i l t by R C A ' s A s t r o

Electronics D i v i s i o n , P r i n c e t o n , N. J.

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The l a u n c h v e h i c l e i s a s t a n d a r d r e c o n d i t i o n e d
A t l a s E/F, w i t h t h e second s t a g e a p a r t of t h e s p a c e c r a f t .

T h i s second s t a g e i s a TE-364-15 s o l i d f u e l motor which,

on command of an onboard system, i n j e c t s TIROS-N i n t o

c i r c u l a r o r b i t a f t e r s e p a r a t i o n from t h e Atlas. At

s e p a r a t i o n t h e s p a c e c r a f t w i l l weigh 7 3 4 kg (LO62 lb.)

i n c l u d i n g t h e apogee k i c k motor ( A K M ) assembly. The AKM

c o n t a i n s 6 6 4 kg (1,464 lb.) of p r o p e l l a n t which burns
t o d e p l e t i o n , l e a v i n g t h e AKM a t t a c h e d t o t h e s p a c e c r a f t

b u t weighing o n l y 4 7 . 7 kg (105 l b . ) i n o r b i t .

The A t l a s is made by G e n e r a l Dynamics, San Diego, C a l i f . ,

and t h e AKM i s manufactured by T h i o k o l C o r p o r a t i o n ,

Ogden, Utah.

(END OF RELEASE, BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOLLOWS)

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TIROS-N MISSION

TIROS-N and N O M follow-on satellites consist of eight

third-generation operational meterological polar orbiting
spacecraft. The purpose of these satellites is to make
measurements of temperature and humidity in the Earth's
atmosphere, surface temperature, surface and cloud cover,
water-ice-moisture boundaries, and proton and electron
flux near the Earth. They have the capability of receiving,
processing, and retransmitting data from free-floating
balloons, buoys, and remote automatic stations distributed
around the globe and can also track stations which are in
motion. In addition, the N O M - E , -F, and -G spacecraft
will carry Search and Rescue instruments (SAR). All
launches are planned for the 1978-84 time period.
Project Objectives
TIROS-N objectives include providing an advanced
operational prototype satellite and instruments for a
third-generation series of operational meteorological
satellites for use in the National Operational Environmental
Satellite System (NOESS) and to support the Global
Atmospheric Research Program (GARP). Specific objectives
include providing improved methods of obtaining quantitative
environmental data and improved data handling capabilities
through:
0 Higher resolution, day and night cloud cover
observations on a local and global scale:
0 High resolution observations of sea surface
temperatures:
0 Improved observations of vertical temperature
and water vapor profiles in the troposphere and lower
stratosphere on a global basis;
0 Observations of vertical temperature profiles
in the middle and upper stratosphere on a global basis;
Operational flight of a high-capacity data
collection/relay and platform location system;
0 Observations of electron and proton flux
densities and total particle energy densities in
the near-Earth space environment.

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The general objective of the program will be to

improve the capability of the operational environmental
satellite system operated by the Department of Commerce/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (DOC/NOAA).
The TIROS-N series is based on the Block 5D spacecraft
bus developed by RCA Astro Electronics Division (RCA/AE)
f o r the Air Force. Differences between the Block 5D and
TIROS-N are constrained to those necessary to meet mission
requirements or found to be cost effective.
The launch vehicle for the TIROS-N is the Atlas-F.
When the series is operational, two satellites will be in
orbit at one time with a backup satellite available for
launch four months after each spacecraft is placed in orbit.
TIROS-N nominal orbit parameters are:
Orbit altitude : 8 7 0 km (518 mi.)
Sun-synchronous inciination: 98.9 degrees
Orbit period: 102.37 minutes

International Participation
International participants are the United Kingdom,
Ministry of Defense Meteorological Office (British Met
0ffice);the Republic of France, Centre National d'Etudes
Spatiales (CNES); and the Canadian Department of
Communications, Communications Research Center (CRC), in
the later phases of the series.
INSTRUMENTATION
High Resolution Radiometry
One of the NOAA objectives for the TIROS-N series is
to provide timely day and night sea surface temperature,
ice, snow, and cloud information to diverse classes of
users. The instrument used to obtain this data is the
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) .

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Requirements i n c l u d e :

0 Direct r e a d o u t t o ground s t a t i o n s of t h e Automatic

P i c t u r e T r a n s m i s s i o n (APT) c l a s s , worldwide, a t l o w
r e s o l u t i o n of 4 k i l o m e t e r s ( 2 . 4 m i l e s ) w i t h r e d u c t i o n of
panoramic d i s t o r t i o n ;

0 D i r e c t r e a d o u t t o ground s t a t i o n s of t h e High
R e s o l u t i o n P i c t u r e T r a n s m i s s i o n ( H R P T ) class, worldwide.
R e s o l u t i o n w i l l b e 1 km ( . 6 m i . ) ;

0 Global Area Coverage (GAC) of on-board recorded

d a t a a t r e l a t i v e l y l o w r e s o l u t i o n s of 4 k m ( 2 . 4 m i . )
f o r c e n t r a l processing;

0 L o c a l A r e a Coverage (LAC) of on-board s t o r a g e of

d a t a from s e l e c t e d p o r t i o n s of e a c h o r b i t a t h i g h
r e s o l u t i o n of 1 k m ( . 6 m i . ) f o r c e n t r a l p r o c e s s i n g .

Sea s u r f a c e t e m p e r a t u r e s w i l l be d e r i v e d p r i m a r i l y
from t h e window c h a n n e l measurements. I t i s NOAA's
o b j e c t i v e t o p r o v i d e s e a s u r f a c e t e m p e r a t u r e s t o an
a c c u r a c y of 1 . 5 degrees C , a b s o l u t e and 0 . 5 d e g r e e s C ,
r e l a t i v e ( 2 . 7 d e g r e e s F and 0 . 9 d e g r e e s F ) on a
1 0 k m ( 6 . 2 m i . ) g r i d , a t l e a s t once p e r day, b u t
h o p e f u l l y t w i c e , and t o an a c c u r a c y of 1 degree C a b s o l u t e
on a 1 0 0 k m ( 6 2 m i . ) g r i d a t l e a s t once p e r day. V i s i b l e
and near-IR s p e c t r a l coverage i s n e c e s s a r y t o m e e t N O M
r e q u i r e m e n t s for o b s e r v a t i o n of l a n d c o v e r a g e , d e l i n e a t i o n
of w a t e r , of snow and i c e , and of m e l t i n g snow and i c e .

Data C o l l e c t i o n System (DCS)

A d a t a c o l l e c t i o n and p l a t f o r m l o c a t i o n subsystem i s
r e q u i r e d t o m e e t NOAA g o a l s i n c l u d i n g s u p p o r t t o GARP.
T h i s subsystem w i l l p r o v i d e f o r t h e r e c e i p t , p r o c e s s i n g ,
and s t o r a g e of d a t a ( t e m p e r a t u r e , p r e s s u r e , a l t i t u d e
e t c . ) f r o m f i x e d and moving p l a t f o r m s ( e . g . , f r e e - f l o a t i n g
b a l l o o n s and buoys) and for t h e l o c a t i o n of t h e movinq
platforms for l a t e r transmission t o a c e n t r a l processing
f ac i l i t y.

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Platform location is for the purpose of determing the

velocity of the fluid medium in which the platform is
immersed (i.e., wind velocity in the case of balloons and
ocean current at a depth of the drogue in the case of buoys).
The accuracy achieved is primarily a function of the position
location accuracy for each fix, the time interval between
fixes and the representativeness or responsiveness of the
"tracer" (e.g., balloon, drogue motion). The First GARP
Global Experiment (FGGE) -- stated accuracy requirement for
wind determination at mid and high latitudes is plus or
minus 3 mi. per second preferably averaged over two to three
hours. The TIROS-N system will provide measurements which
are commensurate with this end requirement, and will be
capable of acquiring data from up to 2,000 platforms per day.
DCS components are:
0 Free-floating balloon platforms
0 Free-floating buoy platform
0 Fixed platforms located predominately in
polar regions
e The satellite data collection subsystem
0 The ground station data retrieval subsystem
0 Centralized data reduction and processing
As an operational spacecraft TIROS-N satellite would
receive low-duty cycle transmissions, uncoordinated in time
or frequency, from the platforms in a random access manner
using a one-way Rl? link. The received transmission is
processed onboard the satellite in order to recover the
platform data message and, for the free-floating platforms,
to measure the transmission received frequency so that
additional ground processing can determine the locations
from the doppler induced frequency shift. The recovered
data message and frequency measurements (along with time
code) are stored onboard the satellite for ground station
data retrieval at periodic intervals.
Atmospheric Sounding
The sounder system data will be used to determine the
vertical temperature profile of the atmosphere from the
Earth's surface to near the top of the atmosphere (1 mb) and
moisture vapor content profile from the surface to the
tropopause. It is a goal to compute these profiles globally
to an accuracy of 1 degree C (temperature) and 20 per cent
moisture vapor content (10 per cent desired) on a grid spacins
at the Earth's surface of 400 km ( 2 4 8 mi.) or less, even in
the presence of clouds. An ozone measurement is necessary
for correcting the determinations of the profiles.

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The NOAA r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r a t m o s p h e r i c soundings a r e

c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e o b j e c t i v e s of t h e GARP. The sounding
i n s t r u m e n t s u s e d t o o b t a i n t h e measurements f r o m which
t h e t e m p e r a t u r e and m o i s t u r e p r o f i l e s w i l l be computed
w i l l c o n s i s t of a H i g h R e s o l u t i o n I n f r a r e d Sounder ( H I R S / 2 )
which w i l l measure i n c i d e n t r a d i a t i o n i n 2 0 s p e c t r a l
r e g i o n s of t h e I R spectrum, i n c l u d i n g longwave ( 1 5 - ) and
shortwave ( 4 . 3 - ) r e g i o n s .

Space Environment Monitor (SEM)

The SEM w i l l p r o v i d e c o n t i n u o u s measurement of p r o t o n
a l p h a and e l e c t r o n f l u x a c t i v i t y n e a r t h e E a r t h . T h i s
i n s t r u m e n t i s an e x t e n s i o n of t h e p r e s e n t s o l a r p o r t i o n
m o n i t o r (SPM) now f l y i n g on ITOS s a t e l l i t e s . The new
m o n i t o r package a d d i t i o n a l l y p r o v i d e s f o r measurement of
a l p h a and e l e c t r o n f l u x , spectrum and t o t a l energy
d i s p o s i t i o n i n t o t h e E a r t h ' s upper atmosphere.

D a t a Transmission

The s o u n d e r system d a t a a l o n g w i t h r a d i o m e t r y d a t a w i l l
be telemetered t h r o u g h t h e TIROS-N I n f o r m a t i o n P r o c e s s o r
( T I P ) t e l e m e t r y system. Data w i l l be t r a n s m i t t e d a t f u l l
r e s o l u t i o n i n t h e f o l l o w i n g modes:

0 D i r e c t T I P t r a n s m i s s i o n , worldwide;
D i r e c t T I P m u l t i p l e x e d w i t h HRPT, worldwide;
0 T I P m u l t i p l e x e d w i t h G l o b a l A r e a Coverage
AVHRR d a t a , s t o r e d and played-back;
TIP m u l t i p l e x e d w i t h Local A r e a Coverage,
f u l l r e s o l u t i o n AVHRR d a t a , s t o r e d and
played-back;
0 T I P o n l y d a t a , s t o r e d and played-back
during blind o r b i t s .

T r a c k i n g a n d Data A c q u i s i t i o n

T r a c k i n g and o r b i t d e t e r m i n a t i o n s u p p o r t w i l l be p r o v i d e d
by t h e USAF. Goddard w i l l be r e s p o n s i b l e f o r p r o v i d i n g t h e
o r b i t a l i n f o r m a t i o n t o NOAA t o s a t i s f y TIROS-N a c t i v a t i o n
and e v a l u a t i o n r e q u i r e m e n t s . A l l d a t a a c q u i s i t i o n w i l l be
performed t h r o u g h NOAA Command and Data A c q u i s i t i o n s t a t i o n s
and d a t a l i n k s .

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D a t a Management

Data collected by NASA w i l l s u p p o r t t h e a c t i v a t i o n and

e v a l u a t i o n of t h e s a t e l l i t e , t r e n d d a t a and performance
m o n i t o r i n g and anomaly i n v e s t i g a t i o n .

O p e r a t i o n a l d a t a o b t a i n e d by NOAA i s s e n t t o t h e
Environmental D a t a C e n t e r ' s N a t i o n a l C l i m a t i c C e n t e r a t
A s h e v i l l e , N.C., f o r i n d e x i n g and f i l i n g .

NOAA CDA S t a t i o n s
The primary Command and Data A c q u i s i t i o n (CDA) s t a t i o n s
are l o c a t e d a t F a i r b a n k s , Alaska,and Wallops S t a t i o n , V a .
I n a d d i t i o n , there w i l l be a reduced c a p a b i l i t y (no command
c a p a b i l i t y ) s t a t i o n , l o c a t e d a t Lannion, F r a n c e , t o r e c e i v e
t a p e recorded T I P d a t a f r o m t h e s a t e l l i t e .

The CDA s t a t i o n s t r a n s m i t command programs t o t h e

s a t e l l i t e , a c q u i r e and r e c o r d e n v i r o n m e n t a l and e n g i n e e r i n g
d a t a from t h e s a t e l l i t e . All d a t a w i l l be t r a n s m i t t e d
between CDA and S u i t l a n d v i a commercial communications l i n k s .
Commands w i l l be t r a n s m i t t e d between NOAA's S a t e l l i t e
O p e r a t i o n s C o n t r o l C e n t e r ( S O C C ) , and CDA v i a commercial
communications l i n k s .

Ground Communications

The ground communication l i n k s f o r TIROS-N are p r o v i d e d

by RCA Satcom and Goddard's NASA Communications (NASCOM)
l i n k . NASCOM w i l l p r o v i d e any l a u n c h unique communications
l i n k s f o r t h e TIROS-N l a u n c h . RCA Satcom under c o n t r a c t t o
N O M , w i l l p r o v i d e a l l voice and d a t a l i n k s between t h e SOCC
and t h e CDA s t a t i o n s a f t e r l a u n c h . Satcom i s p r o v i d e d and
o p e r a t e d by N O M NESS.

During l a u n c h and e a r l y o r b i t , Goddard w i l l p r o v i d e

s p e c i a l S p a c e c r a f t T r a c k i n g and Data N e t w o r k ( S T D N ) s u p p o r t
f o r t e l e m e t r y r e c e p t i o n . A f t e r l a u n c h , t h e NOAA CDA
s t a t i o n s w i l l handle a l l telemetry reception. There i s no
r e q u i r e m e n t f o r STDN t o command t h e s p a c e c r a f t . The USAF
wi 1 1 p r o v i d e " s k i n - t r a c k " t r a c k i n g and o r b i t d e t e r m i n a t i o n
support during t h e mission. GSFC w i l l p r o v i d e VHF
i n t e r f e r o m e t e r t r a c k i n g f o r t h e TIROS-N l a u n c h and checkout
o n l y , w i t h stations available at that time.

SPACECRAFT DESCRIPTION

The TIROS-N s a t e l l i t e i s an i n t e g r a t e d s p a c e c r a f t
system d e s i g n e d t o p r o v i d e f o r , and c o n t r o l i n j e c t i o n i n t o ,
t h e r e q u i r e d o r b i t a f t e r s e p a r a t i o n from t h e A t l a s - F launch
vehicle.

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TlROS-N Spacecraft
ARRAY fOUlPMENT HIGH-ENERGY
DRIVE SUPPORT PROTON AND
ELECTRONICS MODULE ALPHA PARTICLE
MEDIUM ENERGY

HESUREMEN1

ROCUET UHF DATA I

HIGH-RESOLUTION
ENGINE COLLECTION INFRARED
ASSEMBLY 44) SYSTEM ANTENNA R AD1AT1ON
SOUNDER

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The s p a c e c r a f t , i n c l u d i n g t h e apogee k i c k motor (AKM),
i n t h e l a u n c h c o n f i g u r a t i o n i s 3 7 1 c m ( 1 4 8 i n . ) h i g h and
1 8 8 c m ( 7 s i n . ) i n d i a m e t e r and weighs nominally L405 kg
(3,095 lb.) O n - o r b i t , w i t h t h e AKM and r e a c t i o n - c o n t r o l
equipment e x p e n d a b l e s consumed, t h e s a t e l l i t e h a s a nomirial.
w e i g h t of 7 2 3 kg (1,590 l b . ) . Figure 1 i d e n t i f i e s t h e
major e x t e r n a l f e a t u r e s of t h e TIROS-N c o n f i g u r a t i o n ,

The s p a c e c r a f t b u s c o n s i s t s of t h e f o l l o w i n g subsystems:
s t r u c t u r e - t h e r m a l , power, a t t i t u d e d e t e r m i n a t i o n and c o n t r o l
and communications and d a t a h a n d l i n g .

Structure-Thermal

The s t r u c t u r e c o n s i s t s of a Block 5 D i n t e g r a t e d s t r u c t u r e
m o d i f i e d a s r e q u i r e d f o r t h e NOAA m i s s i o n . An i n t e g r a t e d
Block 5D s t r u c t u r e c o n s i s t s of a s o l a r a r r a y , an i n j e c t i o n
motor s t r b c t u r e , and an equipment s u p p o r t module and
i n s t r u m e n t mounting p l a t f o r m . The s a t e l l i t e t h e r m a l c o n t r o l
i s a c h i e v e d f o r a l l Sun a n g l e s between 0 d e g r e e s t o 6 8 d e g r e e s ,
i n t e r n a l maximum and minimum power d i s s i p a t i o n and f o r
e n d - o f - m i s s i o n - l i f e c o n d i t i o n s . A c t i v e and p a s s i v e t h e r m a l
c o n t r o l s i m i l a r t o t h a t used on Block 5D w i l l c o n f i n e t h e
t e m p e r a t u r e of t h e I n t e r n a l S a t e l l i t e - E q u i p m e n t I n t e r f a c e t o
a r a n g e of 5 d e g r e e s C t o 30 d e g r e e s C ( 4 1 d e g r e e s F t o 85
d e g r e e s F ) and t h e i n s t r u m e n t s t o a r a n g e of 1 0 d e g r e e s C
t o 30 d e g r e e s C ( 50 d e g r e e s F t o 86 d e g r e e s F ) .

Power Subsystem

The B l o c k 50 b a s i c power subsystem w i l l b e used w i t h

t h e a d d i t i o n of a second 26.5 amperes p e r hour b a t t e r y ,
and a p u l s e l o a d r e g u l a t o r . The subsystem i s a d i r e c t
e n e r g y t r a n s f e r t y p e and w i l l p r o v i d e 4 2 0 w a t t s a v e r a g e
power.

A t t i t u d e D e t e r m i n a t i o n and C o n t r o l Subsystem (ADACS)

The Block 5D ADACS c o n s i s t s of an i n e r t i a l measurement
u n i t , a Sun s e n s o r u n i t and E a r t h s e n s o r assembly, r e a c t i o n
w h e e l s , and t o r q u e c o i l s . A d d i t i o n a l f e a t u r e s i n c l u d e a
t h r e e - a x i s m a g n e t i c moment compensation assembly, t o t r i m
r i l t e:.tein 1 and i n t e r n a l d i s t u r b a n c e s , and j e t wheel
m l o a d i n g c a p a b i l i t y a s a backup mode.

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Communications and Data Handling Subsystem (CDHS)

Because of t h e unique i n s t r u m e n t d a t a f o r m a t s r e q u i r e d
by t h e TIROS-N m i s s i o n a new communications and d a t a h a n d l i n g
subsystem (CDHS) has been developed.

Low d a t a r a t e s e n s o r d a t a w i l l b e f o r m a t t e d i n t o a s e r i a l
d a t a stream a l o n g w i t h b i - l e v e l and d i g i t i E d a n a l o g ,
housekeeping by t h e TIP. The T I P w i l l o p e r a t e i n t w o modes.
A 1 6 . 6 k i l o b i t s p e r second ( k b s ) f o r m a t w i l l b e b o t h r e c o r d e d
and t r a n s m i t t e d r e a l t i m e d u r i n g t h e l a u n c h p h a s e .

A 8 . 3 2 kbs mode will be used f o r normal o r b i t o p e r a t i o n s .

Tape r e c o r d i n g of a l l o r b i t a l T I P d a t a i n c l u d i n g b l i n d o r b i t s
w i l l be p r o v i d e d as w e l l a s a r e a l t i m e VIIF t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n k .

Tape r e c o r d e r s w i l l b e c a p a b l e of r e c o r d i n g and p l a y i n g
back f o u r o r b i t s of c o n t i n u o u s g l o b a l coverage and 1 0 m i n u t e s
p e r o r b i t of l o c a l area d a t a . The r e c o r d e r u n i t s w i l l be
i d e n t i c a l t o p r o v i d e f l e x i b i l i t y and redundancy a t minimum
cost.

Three S-band t r a n s m i t t e r a n t e n n a u n i t s are i n c o r p o r a t e d .

T h e c a p a b i l i t y t o operate a l l t h r e e u n i t s simultaneously i s
p r o v i d e d so t h a t b l i n d o r b i t d a t a can be dumped a t t h e s a m e
t i m e a s r e a l t i m e HRPTA d a t a are t r a n s m i t t e d . I n a d d i t i o l z ,
VHF a n t e n n a s € o r command, t e l e m e t r y , and APT d a t a a r e p r o v i d e d .

LAUNCH VEHICLE

TIROS-N w i l l b e launched from t h e Western T e s t Range

(WTR) by an Atlas-E/F l a u n c h v e h i c l e . The second s t a g e w i l l
be a TE-364-15 s o l i d motor and w i l l be used a s an i n j e c t i o n
motor. Length of t h e o v e r a l l l a u n c h v e h i c l e , i n c l u d i n g
f a i r i n g , i s 293 m ( 9 6 f t . ) and t h e maximum body d i a m e t e r i s
3 m (10 f t . ) . NASA/Goddard w i l l have o v e r a l l system
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for t h e l a u n c h v e h i c l e system. The s t a n d a r d
A t l a s l a u n c h v e h i c l e , m i s s i o n p e c u l i a r hardware, l a u n c h
s u p p o r t , and g a n t r y m o d i f i c a t i o n s w i l l be p r o c u r e d by
Goddard from t h e U S A F . The TE-364-15 motor w a s p r o c u r e d
t h r o u g h t h e Goddard D e l t a P r o j e c t O f f i c e f o r t h e systems
i n t e g r a t i o n c o n t r a c t o r , RCA.

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 ATLAS €/F
SLC-3E MST PlsAl'FOHI1.I

1
100.5 SI'ATIONS- FT

203
93

85.5-
-
NOTE:
LAUNCH VEHICLE STATIONS
FAIRlNG 84-IN. D l k
PAYLOADADAPTER
1 HAVE BEEN ROUNDED O F F TO
NEAREST 1NCH. USE FOR
78- REFERENCE ONLY
FAIRING
70.5-
AFT ADAPTER
JOINT

I
63 1 ELEC'TEICAL
LIFTOFF WEIGHT 268,000 LB

3 CAB LEWAY
1
(D
I

ELECTRICAL
EQIJIPMENT Poi)
1
BZ EQUIPMENT POD
1

'1 RSC Ah'TEXNA

TLM ANTENNA
GUIDANCE ANTENNA

121 ROOSTER ENGINE

TOWER S T A
1321-MS (IN.)
(FT) = \BOOSTER ENGINE BI
12
\ SUSTAINER ENGINE
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F i r s t Stage

The f i r s t s t a g e w i l l b e a r e c o n d i t i o n e d Atlas-E/F
s u p p l i e d by t h e A i r F o r c e . The b o o s t e r i s powered by a n
e n g i n e u s i n g l i q u i d oxygen (LOX) and l i q u i d hydrocarbon
p r o p e l l a n t s . The main e n g i n e i s gimbal mounted t o p r o v i d e
p i t c h and yaw c o n t r o l f r o m l i f t o f f t o main e n g i n e c u t o f f
(MECO). Two l i q u i d p r o p e l l a n t v e r n i e r e n g i n e s p r o v i d e
r o l l c o n t r o l t h r o u g h o u t f i r s t - s t a g e o p e r a t i o n and p i t c h
and yaw c o n t r o l from MECO t o f i r s t - s t a g e s e p a r a t i o n .

Second S t a g e

The second s t a g e is a TE-M-364-15 s o l i d r o c k e t motor

manufactured by T h i o k o l Corp. T h i s motor i s p a r t of t h e
Block 5 D s p a c e c r a f t . I t c o n t a i n s 6 6 4 kg (lJ64 14) of
p r o p e l l a n t which b u r n s t o d e p l e t i o n l e a v i n g t h e motor
assembly case, weighing 4 7 . 7 kg ( 1 0 5 l b . ) , i n o r b i t w i t h
t h e s a t e l l i t e . Three a x i s s t a b i l i z a t i o n of t h e s a t e l l i t e
d u r i n g b u r n i n g i s by n i t r o g e n and h y d r a z i n e t h r u s t e r s .

Attach F i t t i n g

The TIROS-N s a t e l l i t e i s a t t a c h e d t o t h e l a u n c h v e h i c l e
by means of a 0.97-m (38 i n . ) d i a m e t e r c y l i n d r i c a l a t t a c h
f i t t i n g , which i n t u r n i s s e c u r e d t o t h e a d a p t e r assembly
mounted t o t h e f i r s t s t a g e .

Guidance and C o n t r o l

The Atlas-E/F s a t e l l i t e a s c e n t t r a j e c t o r y i s a d i r e c t
a s c e n t , b a l l i s t i c t y p e t r a j e c t o r y f o r a 192.8 d e g r e e azimuth
from Pad SLC-3E. A t s a t e l l i t e s e p a r a t i o n , 349.5 s e c o n d s
a f t e r l i f t o f f , i t w i l l be a t an apogee a l t i t u d e of 8 9 6 km
(560 m i . ) . A t 6 2 6 . 9 sec. t h e apogee k i c k motor (ARM) is
fired t o circularize the orbit.

The AKM b u r n s f o r 43.5 sec. and a t 6 7 5 . 4 sec. a f t e r

l i f t o f f , t h e o r b i t i s trimmed, t h e s a t e l l i t e i s o r i e n t e d
and handover t o s a t e l l i t e c o n t r o l i s accomplished.

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ATLAS- FDATELLITE ASCE M TRAJECTORY

FLIGHT SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

(seconds)

Liftoff 0
Booster Engine Cutoff 121 .o
Jettison Boaster Engines 124.1
Jettison Fairing 144.0
Sustainer Engine Cutoff 324.5
Vernier Engine Cutoff 343.5
Spacecraft Separation 349.5
Obtain ignition Attitude 456.9
TE-M-364-15 Ignition 626.9
AKM Burnout 670.4
AVeiocity Trim 675.4
End AV Trim 698.2
90 Deg Yaw 703.2
StartRoll Rate 758.2
Deploy Solar Army 027.7
Fine Point 1467.7
Handover 1600.0

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Ascent g u i d a n c e and c o n t r o l d u r i n g t h e b o o s t phase i s
accomplished by t h e A t l a s - F a u t o p i l o t program which i s
augmented by a ground based r a d i o guidance system ( G E R T S )
t o a c c o u n t f o r any off-nominal b o o s t e r dynamics. A f t e r
b o o s t e r shutdown, t h e s a t e l l i t e i s s e p a r a t e d and b e g i n s
c l o s e d l o o p i n e r t i a l guidance of t h e c o a s t phase and AKM
c i r c u l a t i n g maneuver. S a t e l l i t e guidance and c o n t r o l i s
accomplished by an onboard i n e r t i a l measuring u n i t ( I M U )
and a guidance computer. The I M U p r o v i d e s v e h i c l e
a c c e l e r a t i o n s and r o t a t i o n a l motion i n p u t s t o t h e guidance
computer which t h e n n a v i g a t e s , p r e d i c t s e r r o r s and
d e t e r m i n e s c o r r e c t i v e guidance changes t o produce t h e
d e s i r e d o r b i t c i r c u l a r i t y and Sun-synchronism. The
expended A t l a s c o n t i n u e s on i t s b a l l i s t i c t r a j e c t o r y and
i m p a c t s a p p r o x i m a t e l y 7 , 7 7 0 k m (4,800 m i . ) down r a n g e i n
t h e South P a c i f i c .

Fairina

The f a i r i n g , which p r o t e c t s t h e s a t e l l i t e from

aerodynamic h e a t i n g d u r i n g t h e b o o s t f l i g h t , i s j e t t i s o n e d
as soon a s t h e v e h i c l e l e a v e s t h e atmosphere.

Procurement

Procurement of t h e A t l a s Launch V e h i c l e from t h e

A i r Force i s c o o r d i n a t e d w i t h Space and Missiles System
O r g a n i z a t i o n ( S A M S O ) d i r e c t l y from Goddard. The l a u n c h
v e h i c l e a c t i v i t i e s a r e t e c h n i c a l l y m o n i t o r e d and reviewed
by Goddard p r i o r t o and d u r i n g l a u n c h o p e r a t i o n s . The
l a u n c h i s t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of t h e U.S. A i r F o r c e Space
and Missile T e s t C e n t e r , Vandenberg AFB, C a l i f .
TIROS-N PROJECT COSTS

The f u n d i n g of t h e TIROS-N P r o j e c t ( i n c l u d i n g s p a c e c r a f t ,
s e n s o r s , and ground s u p p o r t ) i s p r o v i d e d i n t h e f o l l o w i n g
table.
( M i 11i o n s o f D o l l a r s )

Spacecraft 26.9 4.0 0 30.9

Instruments 13.1 .1 0 13.2
Ground O p e r a t i o n s .4 .3 0 .7
114s 1.0 .2 0 1.2
TOTALS (OSTA) 41.4 4.6 0 46.0
A t l a s Launch V e h i c l e ( O S T S ) 4.6 4.3 0 8.9

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MISSION MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY
NASA Headquarters
Associate Administrator for Space & Dr. Anthony J. Calio
Terrestrial Applications
Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Samuel W. Keller
C Terrestrial Applications

Director, Environmental Observations Division, Dr. Lawrence R. Greenwood

Office of Space & Terrestrial Applications
Manager, Operational Meteorological M. L. Garbacz
Satellite Program
Associate Administrator for Space John F. Yardley
Transportation Systems
Director, Expendable Launch Vehicles J. B. Mahon
Program
Manager, Atlas-F J. A . Salmanson
Goddard Space Flight Center
Director Dr. Robert Cooper
Director, Project Management Directorate Robert Lindley
Project Manager Gil Branchflower
Deputy Project Manager, Technical G. L. Burdett
Deputy Project Manager, Resources R. J. Flick
Spacecraft Manager W. M. Peacock
Instrument Manager C. E. Thienel

Launch Vehicle Manager J. F. Corrigan

Mission Operations Manager W. A. Hembree

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CONTRACTORS

RCA A s t r o E l e c t r o n i c s D i v . Spacecraft
Princeton, N.J.

ITT--Aerospace/Opticai D i v . Advance Very High R e s o l u t i o n

F t . Wayne, I n d . Radiometer, High R e s o l u t i o n I n f r a r e d
Radiometer Sounder/2 (HIRS/2)

J e t Propulsion Laboratory Microwave Sounding U n i t

Pasadena, C a l i f .

Ford Aerospace Communications Space Environment Monitor

Corp., Palo A l t o , Calif.

General Dynamics Corp. Atlas-E/F Launch V e h i c l e

San Diego, C a l i f .

T h i o k o l Corp. Apogee Kick Motor

Huntsville, A l a .

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