SPACECRAFT DESCRIPTION:
The spacecraft was a cylinder 75 inches in diameter, 103 inches
high and weighed 630 pounds. The sides of the cylinder were covered
by 15,000 solar cells which, along with nicad batteries, provided
the power for the craft. A single triangular magnetometer unit was
located on the top of the craft which extended 33". The spacecraft
was spin stabilized and rotated at 100 revolutions per minute.
The principle instrument on board was the Visible Infrared Spin
Scan Radiometer (VISSR) which provided day and night imagery of
cloud conditions over the full-disk. The satellite had the
capability to continuously monitor cataclysmic weather events such
as hurricanes and typhoons, relay meteorological data from over
10,000 surface locations into a central processing center for
incorporation into numerical weather prediction models, and to
perform facsimile transmission of processed images and weather maps
to WEFAX field stations. In addition, a Space Environment Monitor
(SEM) and Data Collection System (DCS) similar to those on the NOAA
polar orbiters were installed.