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- SMS-2 was launched in February 1975 and was a NASA-developed, NOAA-operated, second prototype spacecraft for the geosynchronous series of meteorological satellites. The cylindrically shaped spacecraft measured 190.5 cm in diameter and 230 cm in length, exclusive of a magnetometer that extended an additional 83 cm beyond the cylinder shell. The primary structural members were a honeycombed equipment shelf and thrust tube. The VISSR telescope was mounted on the equipment shelf and viewed the Earth through a special aperture in the side of the spacecraft. A support structure extended radially from the thrust tube and was affixed to the solar panels, which formed the outer walls of the spacecraft and provided the primary source of electrical power. Located in the annulus-shaped space between the thrust tube and the solar panels were stationkeeping and dynamics control equipment, batteries, and most of the SEM equipment. Proper spacecraft attitude and spin rate (approximately 100 rpm) were maintained by two separate sets of jet thrusters mounted around the spacecraft equator and activated by ground command. The spacecraft used both UHF-band and S-band frequencies in its telemetry and command subsystem. A low-power VHF transponder provided telemetry and command during launch and then served as a backup for the primary subsystem once the spacecraft attained orbit. This spin-stabilized spacecraft carried a visible infrared spin-scan radiometer, meteorological data collection and relay system, space environment monitor, and a biaxial fluxgate magnetometer. Throughout its history, it operated at 75 (replaced SMS-1 in April 1979), 115, and 135 degrees West. __________ 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, "http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/"). Group: Platform_Details Entry_ID: SMS-2 Group: Platform_Identification Platform_Category: Earth Observation Satellites Platform_Series_or_Entity: SMS (Synchronous Meteorological Satellites) Short_Name: SMS-2 Long_Name: Synchronous Meteorological Satellite 2 End_Group Group: Synonymous_Platform_Names Short_Name: SMS-2 End_Group Group: Platform_Associated_Instruments Short_Name: SXM Short_Name: EPM Short_Name: VISSR Short_Name: DCS Short_Name: Magnetic Field Monitor End_Group Creation_Date: 2007-11-13 Online_Resource: http://goes.gsfc.nasa.gov/text/history/sms/sms2.html Online_Resource: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1975-011A Sample_Image: http://goes.gsfc.nasa.gov/text/history/sms/sms2.gif Group: Platform_Logistics Launch_Date: 1975-02-06 Launch_Site: Cape Canaveral/Kennedy Space Center, USA Primary_Sponsor: USA/NASA Primary_Sponsor: USA/NOAA End_Group End_Group
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