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- NOAA-1 (ITOS-1) was launched in December 1970 and the primary objective of the sun-synchronous meteorological satellite was to provide improved operational infrared and visual observations of earth cloud cover for use in weather analysis and forecasting. Secondary objectives included providing solar proton and global heat balance data on a regular daily basis. The nearly cubical spacecraft measured 1 by 1 by 1.2 m. The TV cameras and infrared sensors were mounted on the satellite baseplate with their optical axes directed vertically earthward. The spacecraft was equipped with three curved solar panels that were folded during launch and deployed after orbit was achieved. Each panel measured over 4.2 m in length when unfolded and was covered with 3420 solar cells, each measuring 2 by 2 cm. The attitude control system maintained desired spacecraft orientation through gyroscopic principles incorporated into the satellite design. Earth orientation of the satellite body was maintained by taking advantage of the precession induced from a momentum flywheel so that the satellite body precession rate of one revolution per orbit provided the desired 'earth looking' attitude. Minor adjustments in attitude and orientation were made by means of magnetic coils and by varying the speed of the momentum flywheel. This spacecraft carried four cameras; two television cameras for Automatic Picture Transmission (APT), and two Advanced Vidicon Camera System (AVCS) cameras. The satellite also carried a low-resolution flat plate radiometer, a solar proton monitor, and two scanning radiometers that not only measured emitted IR radiation but also served as a backup system for the onboard cameras. Launched into a near-polar orbit, the spacecraft and its subsystems performed normally until May 29, 1971 when the incremental tape recorder failed, resulting in partial loss of solar proton data and total loss of flat plate radiometer data. The APT and Direct Readout Infrared (DRIR) subsystems were turned off on June 20, 1971 in an attempt to reduce the above normal temperature due to overheating in the attitude control system. The AVCS was turned off shortly thereafter, and the scanning radiometer continued partial operations until the spacecraft was deactivated on August 19, 1971. For more information about the NOAA satellite series link to the URL: "http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/psguide/satellite/noaasat.html" __________ 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: NOAA-1 Group: Platform_Identification Platform_Category: Earth Observation Satellites Platform_Series_or_Entity: NOAA POES (Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites) Short_Name: NOAA-1 Long_Name: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-1 End_Group Group: Synonymous_Platform_Names Short_Name: ITOS-A End_Group Creation_Date: 2007-10-17 Online_Resource: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1970-106A Sample_Image: http://www.cira.colostate.edu/cira/RAMM/hillger/noaa-1+cep-1_cover.jpg Group: Platform_Logistics Launch_Date: 1970-12-11 Primary_Sponsor: NASA End_Group End_Group
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