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- Nimbus-5 was launched in December 1972 and was a research-and-development satellite designed to serve as a stabilized, earth-oriented platform for the testing of advanced meteorological sensor systems and collecting meteorological and geological data on a global scale. The polar-orbiting spacecraft consisted of three major structures: (1) a hollow, ring-shaped sensor mount, (2) solar paddles, and (3) a control system housing. The solar paddles and control system housing were connected to the sensor mount by a truss structure, giving the satellite the appearance of an ocean buoy. Nimbus-5 was nearly 3.7 m tall, 1.5 m in diameter at the base, and about 3 m wide with solar paddles extended. The torus-shaped sensor mount, which formed the satellite base, housed the electronics equipment and battery modules. The lower surface of the torus provided mounting space for sensors and antennas. A box-beam structure mounted within the center of the torus provided support for the larger sensor experiments. Mounted on the control system housing, which was located on top of the spacecraft, were sun sensors, horizon scanners, and a command antenna. An advanced attitude-control system permitted the spacecraft orientation to be controlled to within plus or minus 1 degree in all three axes (pitch, roll, and yaw). Primary experiments included a temperature-humidity infrared radiometer (THIR) for measuring day and night surface and cloudtop temperatures as well as the water vapor content of the upper atmosphere, electrically scanning microwave radiometer (ESMR) for mapping the microwave radiation from the earth's surface and atmosphere, infrared temperature profile radiometer (ITPR) for obtaining vertical profiles of temperature and moisture, Nimbus E microwave spectrometer (NEMS) for determining tropospheric temperature profiles, atmospheric water vapor abundances, and cloud liquid water contents, selective chopper radiometer (SCR) for observing the global temperature structure of the atmosphere, and a surface composition mapping radiometer (SCMR) for measuring the differences in the thermal emission characteristics of the earth's surface. __________ Taken from the NSSDC System for Information Retrieval and Storage (SIRS). For more information contact the NSSDC Coordinated Request and User Support Office, 301-286-6695 (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 933.4, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA). Nimbus-5 User's Guide Group: Platform_Details Entry_ID: NIMBUS-5 Group: Platform_Identification Platform_Category: Earth Observation Satellites Platform_Series_or_Entity: NIMBUS Short_Name: NIMBUS-5 End_Group Group: Platform_Associated_Instruments Short_Name: THIR Short_Name: SCR Short_Name: NEMS Short_Name: ITPR Short_Name: ESMR Short_Name: SCMR End_Group Group: Orbit Orbit_Altitude: 1020 km Orbit_Inclination: 100.10 degrees Period: 107.20 minutes Perigee: 1088 km Apogee: 1101 km Orbit_Type: LEO > Low Earth Orbit > Polar Sun-Synchronous End_Group Online_Resource: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1972-097A Online_Resource: http://nasascience.nasa.gov/missions/nimbus Group: Platform_Logistics Launch_Date: 1972-12-11 Launch_Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, USA Primary_Sponsor: USA/NASA End_Group End_Group
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