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5/9/91: NASA TO LAUNCH NOAA-D METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITE RELEASE: 91-72 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's NOAA-D meteorological satellite is scheduled for launch no earlier than May 14, officials from NOAA and NASA announced. Like other NOAA satellites, NOAA-D will collect meteorological data and transmit the information free of charge directly to users around the world to enhance local weather analysis and forecasting. The users include more than 100 national governments. In addition to assisting local weather forecasting, the satellite data are used for agriculture, fishing, forest management, flood control, fire detection, volcano emission detection, vegetation mapping, oceanography and global climate change research. Launch of the 3,127-pound spacecraft is planned for 11:52 a.m. EDT from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. To be known as NOAA-12 once it is in orbit, the satellite will be boosted on a U.S. Air Force Atlas-E launch vehicle into a 450-nautical-mile circular, near polar, sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination angle of 98.70 degrees to the Equator. Orbital period will be 101 minutes, with the spacecraft crossing the Equator at 7:30 p.m. northbound and 7:30 a.m. southbound, local solar time. NOAA-D will carry five primary instruments: the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer, a radiation detection instrument to determine cloud cover and surface temperature; the High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder and the Microwave Sounding Unit, which combine to detect and measure energy from the troposphere to construct a temperature profile from the surface to an altitude of about 6 miles. Also onboard the spacecraft is the Space Environment Monitor to measure the population of the Earth's radiation belts and the particle precipitation phenomena resulting from solar activity, and the ARGOS/Data Collection System which receives signals from approximately 2,000 platforms (buoys, balloons and remote weather stations) and transmits the data to a central processing facility on the ground. Operational ground facilities include Command and Data Acquisition stations in Fairbanks, Alaska, and Wallops Island, Va.; the Satellite Operations Control Center and Data Processing Services Subsystem facilities in Suitland, Md.; and a data receiving station in Lannion, France. The NOAA-D is a TIROS-N (Television Infrared Observation Satellite) class spacecraft, built by the General Electric Astro Space Division. The world's first weather satellite was a TIROS, launched April 1, 1960. The TIROS program is a cooperative effort of NOAA, NASA, the United Kingdom, Canada and France for providing day and night environmental and associated data on a daily basis. NOAA is responsible for establishing the observational requirements and for operating the system, and NASA, through its Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., is responsible for procuring and developing the spacecraft and for conducting on-orbit checkout of the satellite before transferring the system to NOAA for operational control. The U.S. Air Force provides launch support with its Atlas-E launch vehicle, built by General Dynamics Space Systems Division. NOAA-D Physical Characteristics Main body: 12.2 feet (3.71 meters) long; 6.2 feet (1.88 meters) in diameter. Solar array: 7.8 by 16.1 feet (2.37 by 4.91 meters) Weight: At liftoff 3,127 pounds (1,418 kg); on orbit, 1,620 pounds (735 kg). Lifetime: Greater than 2 years. Orbit: Circular, altitude 450 nautical miles; inclination, 98.7 degrees; period 101.35 minutes; sun synchronous, crossing the equator going south at 7:30 a.m. local time and north at 7:30 p.m. NOAA-D Mission Timeline Launch Sequence Mission Time (min: sec.) Launch 11:52 a.m. EDT Booster Engine Cutoff (BECO) 2:01.3 Booster Package Jettison 2:04.1 Nose Fairing Jettison 2:23.0 Sustainer Engine Cutoff (SECO) 5:21.3 Vernier Engine Cutoff (VECO) 5:40.4 Spacecraft Separation 5:46.4 Solid Motor Ignition 10:23.5 Solid Motor Burnout 11:06.5 Array Deployment 17:35.0 Boom Deployment 21:00.0 Array Cant 23:40.0 Very High Frequency Antenna Deployment 28:10.0 Ultra High Frequency Antenna Deployment 28:30.0 Handover 34:00.0 The ATLAS-E Booster Atlas, built by General Dynamics Space Division, San Diego, Calif., was originally designed as an intercontinental ballistic missile in the mid 1950s. The first flight of an Atlas took place on Dec. 18, 1958. The Atlas family of launch vehicles (Atlas E, H, and SLV-3D) are considered intermediate boosters. The boosters, stored at Norton Air Force Base, Calif., are modified for use in the space program. The modifications include the updating of guidance systems and improved safety controls. The list of payloads boosted by Atlas include Mercury (manned orbital flights), Ranger, Mariner, Pioneer, INTELSAT, NAVSTAR and most recently the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite. The Atlas E launch vehicle is 92 feet (27.9 meters) in length and 10 feet (3.1 meters) in diameter. It has a gross liftoff weight of 412,900 pounds (187,310 kilograms). Burning LO 2 and RP-1 (liquid oxygen and kerosene-type fuel), the rocket's three main engines will produce 389,000 to 392,000 pounds (176,450 to 177,811 kilograms) of thrust at liftoff. Apogee Kick Motor The spacecraft will reach its nominal orbit by use of a Morton Thiokol, Elkton Division, STAR 37S solid propellant motor. This 37-inch (94-cm) spherical rocket motor, which has flown on all previous TIROS-N missions to date, provides an average of 9,542 pound-feet of thrust during a 43.5 second burn. The motor remains with the spacecraft after the burn. NOAA-D Instrumentation The instrument systems provide both direct readout and onboard recording and playback of environmental data during day and night operations. The primary instruments carried by the NOAA-D spacecraft are: % Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer/2 (AVHRR/2). % High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder/2 (HIRS/2). % Space Environment Monitor (SEM). % Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU). % ARGOS Data Collection System (ARGOS/DCS). Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer/2 The AVHRR/2 is a radiation-detection instrument used to remotely determine cloud cover and the Earth's surface temperature. The scanning radiometer uses five detectors that collect different bands of radiation wavelengths. Measuring the same view, this array of diverse wavelengths, after processing, will permit multispectral analysis for more precisely defining hydrologic, oceanographic and meteorological parameters. One channel will monitor energy in the visible band and another in the near- infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to observe vegetation, clouds, lakes, shorelines, snow and ice. Comparison of data from these two channels can indicate the onset of ice and snow melting. Depending on which instrument is used, the other two or three channels operate entirely within the infrared band to detect the heat radiation and temperature of land, water, sea surfaces and clouds. Use of two adjacent frequency bands eliminates the hindrance to determining surface temperature caused by clouds. High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder/2 The HIRS/2 detects and measures energy emitted by the atmosphere to construct a vertical temperature profile from the Earth's surface to an altitude of about 24 miles (40 km). Measurements are made in 20 spectral regions in the infrared band. One frequency lies at the high end of the visible range. Microwave Sounding Unit The MSU detects and measures the energy from the troposphere (the lowest layer of the atmosphere) to construct a vertical temperature profile to an altitude of about 6 miles (10 km). Measurements are made by radiometric detection of microwave energy divided into four frequency channels. Since its data are not seriously affected by clouds, the MSU is used in conjunction with the HIRS/2 to remove measurement ambiguity when clouds are present. Space Environment Monitor The SEM is a multichannel, charged-particle spectrometer. It measures the population of the Earth's radiation belts and the particle precipitation resulting from solar activity (both of which contribute to the solar/terrestrial energy interchange). The SEM consists of two sensors, the total-energy detector and the medium-energy detector, and a common data processor. The SEM's objectives are to determine the energy deposited by solar particles in the upper atmosphere and provide a solar warning system. The ARGOS Data Collection System The ARGOS/DCS, provided by France, assists NOAA in its overall environmental mission and in the support of the Global Atmospheric Research Program. Approximately 2,000 platforms (buoys, free- floating balloons and remote weather stations) measure temperatures, pressure and altitude, and they transmit these data to the satellite. The onboard DCS receives the incoming signal, measures both the frequency and the relative time of occurrence of each transmission, and retransmits these data to the central processing facility. The DCS information is then sent to the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales ARGOS processing center, where it is processed, distributed and stored on magnetic tape for archival purposes. The NOAA-D DCS data rate is 720 bits per second. Communications and Data Handling The communications subsystem uses eight transmission links to handle communications between the satellite and ground stations. The satellite is controlled from NOAA's Satellite Operations Control Center (SOCC), Suitland, Md. The ground system is made up of Data Acquisition and Control Subsystem (DACS) and the central processing system designated the Data Processing Services Subsystem (DPSS). The primary command and data acquisition (CDA) stations are located in Fairbanks, Alaska, and Wallops Island, Va. The CDA stations transmit command programs to the satellite, acquire and record meteorological and engineering data from the spacecraft. Through a cooperative arrangement between NOAA and the Establissement d'Etudes et de Recherches Meteorologicques in France, stored and real-time data can be relayed from the Lannion Centre de Meteorologie Spatiale through NOAA geostationary satellites. All data are transmitted between CDA stations and Suitland through commercial communications links. The ground communications links for satellite operations are provided by SATCOM and NASCOM. NASCOM provides any launch-unique communications links for satellite launch. SATCOM provides all voice and data links between the SOCC and the CDA stations after launch. SATCOM is provided and operated by NOAA's National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS). DPSS acquires data from the CDA stations through SOCC and is responsible for the data processing and generation of meteorological produces on a timely basis to meet program requirements. NOAA provides all hardware and software for DPSS. Summary of Previous NOAA Satellite Missions The NOAA satellites are TIROS spacecraft. The TIROS program is a cooperative effort of NASA, NOAA, the United Kingdom and France to provide day and night global environmental and associated data for operational purposes on a daily basis. TIROS-N, a research and development spacecraft serving as a protoflight for the operational follow-on series, NOAA-A through NOAA-H, was launched October 13, 1978. NOAA-A and -C through -H have been designated NOAA-6 through NOAA-11 after launch. % NOAA-A (6) was launched June 27, 1979 and was deactivated on March 31, 1987. % NOAA-B was launched May 29, 1980 but failed to reach a usable orbit. Because it failed, it has no number. % NOAA-C (7) was launched June 23, 1981 and was deactivated in June 1986 following a power system failure. % NOAA-D was dropped out of sequence in favor of NOAA-E, a longer spacecraft that could accommodate more instruments, including search and rescue equipment. NOAA-D will be designated NOAA-12 upon successfully reaching orbit. % NOAA-E (8) was launched March 28, 1983. The spacecraft became non-operational on December 29, 1985 following clock and power system failures. % NOAA-F (9) was launched December 12, 1984. It currently is on standby status with some data still being processed. % NOAA-G (10) was launched September 17, 1986. All instruments and subsystems are performing well except the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) scanner which has exhibited a scan sticking anomaly. % NOAA-H (11) was launched September 24, 1988. All instruments are performing well. The attitude control subsystem has lost two of its four gyros and is being operated successfully with specialized onboard software. NOAA-D Mission Management NOAA Jennifer Joy Wilson Assistant Sectretary of Commerce, Oceans and Atmosphere; Deputy Administrator, NOAA. Gray Castle Deputy Undersecretray of Commerce, Oceans and Atmosphere Thomas N. Pyke Jr. Assistant Administrator, Satellite and Information Services. NASA Headquarters Dr. L.A. Fisk Associate Administrator, Space Science and Applications Alphonso V. Diaz Deputy Associate Administrator, Space Science and Applications Dr. Shelby G. Tilford Director, Earth Science and Applications Division James Greaves Program Manager, NOAA-D Goddard Space Flight Center Dr. John M. Klineberg Director Dr. Dale W. Harris Acting Director, Flight Projects Charles E. Thienel Project Director, Meteorological Satellites Dr. Joel Susskind Project Scientist, Meteorological Satellites William Peacock Manager, TIROS Spacecraft International Partners Daniel Hernandez Director, ARGOS and SARSAT programs, CNES John Morgan Director, EUMETSAT.