apr 1, 1960 - Tiros 1

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Tiros 1 was launched on the April 1st, 1960, launched by NASA and partners from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the United States. Mission partners were NASA, the U.S. Army Signal Research and Development Laboratory, RCA, the U.S. Weather Bureau, and the U.S. Naval Photographic Interpretation Center. The spacecraft was 102cm in diameter, 48cm high and weighed 122kg. The craft was made of aluminum alloy and stainless steel which was then covered by 9200 solar cells. The solar cells served to charge the on-board batteries. Three pairs of solid-propellant spin rockets were mounted on the base plate. It was built to test experimental television techniques designed to develop a worldwide meteorological satellite information system and to test Sun angle and horizon sensor systems for spacecraft orientation. Tiros 1’s last contact was on June 15, 1960 and had a mission duration of 78 days, but proved that satellites could be a useful tools for surveying global weather conditions from space.

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