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- ERBS was part of the NASA's 3 satellite Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE), designed to investigate how energy from the Sun is absorbed and re-emitted by the earth. This process of absorption and re-radiation is one of the principal drivers of the Earth's weather patterns. Observations from ERBS are also used to determine the effects of human activities (such as burning fossil fuels and the use CFCs) and natural occurrences (such as volcanic eruptions) on the Earth's radiation balance. In addition to the ERBE scanning and nonscanning instruments, the satellite also carried the Stratospheric Aerosol Gas Experiment (SAGE II). The ERBS was the first of three ERBE platforms which would eventually carry the ERBE Instruments. Goddard Space Flight Center built the satellite and it was launched by the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984. The second ERBE Instrument was aboard the NOAA-9 satellite when it was launched in January of 1985, and the third was aboard the NOAA-10 satellite when it was launched in October of 1986. Although the scanning instruments on board all three ERBE satellites are no longer operational, the nonscanning instruments are all presently functioning. Launch: Launched: October 5, 1984 Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center Orbit: Altitude: 610 km Inclination: 57 degrees Period: 96.4 Non-Sun-Synchronous Sun-Synchronous Vital Statistics: Power: 622 watts quiescent watts watts Design Life: 2 years Instruments: ERBE (Earth Radiation Budget Experiment) SAGE II (Stratospheric Aerosol Gas Experiment) Website: "http://nasascience.nasa.gov/missions/erbs"
[Summary provided by NASA.]
Group: Platform_Details Entry_ID: ERBS Group: Platform_Identification Platform_Category: Earth Observation Satellites Short_Name: ERBS Long_Name: Earth Radiation Budget Satellite End_Group Group: Synonymous_Platform_Names Short_Name: ERBS End_Group Group: Platform_Associated_Instruments Short_Name: ERB-SCANNER Short_Name: ERB-NONSCANNER End_Group Group: Orbit Orbit_Altitude: 610 km Orbit_Inclination: 57 deg Period: 96.4 Orbit_Type: LEO > Low Earth Orbit > Polar Non-Sun-Synchronous End_Group Creation_Date: 2007-11-19 Online_Resource: http://asd-www.larc.nasa.gov/erbe/erbs.html Online_Resource: http://nasascience.nasa.gov/missions/erbs Sample_Image: http://asd-www.larc.nasa.gov/erbe/erbssat.gif Group: Platform_Logistics Launch_Date: 1984-10-05 Launch_Site: Cape Canaveral/Kennedy Space Center, USA Primary_Sponsor: USA/NASA End_Group End_Group
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