Weather Satellites: NIMBUS VII

NIMBUS VII

Launch date: October 24, 1978

Launch site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

Launch vehicle: Two-stage Delta 2910

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE:

To gather data to determine the physical characterization of the global atmosphere, the oceans, the ocean-atmosphere interface, and the Earth's heat balance. In addition to APT capability, experiment data was to be transmitted to Earth immediately.

SATELLITE DESCRIPTION:

The spacecraft was designed and configured the same as all previous NIMBUS satellites. The total weight of the spacecraft was the largest ever for a meteorological satellite-2176 pounds.

NIMBUS VI carried eight highly complex sensors which were all improved versions of sensors previously flown on NIMBUS satellites. They were a Limb Radiance Inversion Radiometer, a High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder, an Earth Radiation Budget experiment, an Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer, a Pressure Modulated Radiometer, a Solar Backscatter UV/Total Ozone Mapping Spectrophotometer, a Temperature, Humidity Infrared Radiometer and a Tropical Wind, Energy Conversion and Reference Level experiment The craft was powered by 10,500 solar cells and two SNAP-19 nuclear powered generators.

The craft was placed in sun synchronous orbit and transmission of data from all of the experiments was completed as scheduled. For the first time NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) were able to receive data concerning the global atmosphere in real time. NIMBUS VII remains operational (summer '94), although the TOMS total column ozone instrument failed in May of 1993.

PARTICIPANTS:

NASA, NCAR, General Electric, NOAA, US Weather Bureau, MIT, Jet Propulsion Lab, Oxford University.