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Nimbus 6
Status:
Completed
Mission Category:
Historical Missions
Launch Date: June 12, 1975
Launch Location: Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA
The Nimbus 6 research-and-development satellite served as a stabilized, earth-oriented platform that tested advanced systems for the sensing and collecting of global-scale meteorological data. The polar-orbiting spacecraft consisted of three major structures: (1) a hollow torus-shaped sensor mount, (2) solar paddles, and (3) a control housing unit connected to the sensor mount by a tripod truss structure. These structures gave the spacecraft a configuration somewhat like that of an ocean buoy.
Key Nimbus 6 Facts
| Mission/Portal Page: | http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/masterCatalog.do?sc=1975-052A |
|---|---|
| Launch Vehicle: | Delta |
| Instruments: |
ERBS (Earth Radiation Budget Sensor) ESMR (Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer) HIRS (High-Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder) LRIR (Limb Radiance Inversion Radiometer) PMR (Pressure Modulated Radiometer) SCAMS (Scanning Microwave Spectrometer) T+DRE (Tracking and Data Relay Experiment) THIR (Temperature-Humidity Infrared Radiometer) TWERLE (Tropical Wind Energy Conversion and Reference Level Experiment) |
| Project Scientist(s): |
Albert J. Fleig, Jr. |
Relevant Science Focus Areas:
- Weather
Relevant Science Questions:
- How is the global Earth system changing?
Science Goals:
- The project objectives were to provide improved photographs of local cloud conditions by an automatic picture transmission (APT) system, and to evaluate an advanced vidicon camera system (AVCS) for daylight coverage and a high-resolution infrared radiometer system (HRIR) for night-time cloud-cover observation.
Related Applications:
- Weather Prediction