Tiros-N

 1978-096A

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Tiros N, the prototype for the Tiros N series, was launched on 1978 Oct 13 by Atlas F from Vandenberg into a suborbital trajectory on azimuth 192.8 deg. The Star 37S (TE-364-15) solid motor fired at apogee, inserting the payload into a 850 x 866 km x 98.9 deg, 102.1 min orbit with 0300LTDN afternoon orbit. After several weeks of system checkout, NASA transferred the satellite to NOAA-NESS and it entered operational service on 1979 Jan 1. On 1981 Feb 27 Tiros N lost attitude control and was abandoned.

Tiros N was 3.71m high 1.88m dia with a launch mass of 1405 kg. At BOL, mass is 723 kg after AKM and RCS burns. AKM is 48 kg with 664 kg of prop:

Tiros N dry	675
AKM dry	48
Tiros N BOL	723
AKM prop	664
RCS prop	18
Full	1405 kg

Tiros N
Date	Time	Event	Orbit
1978 Oct 13	1123	Launch by Atlas F	V SLC3W
		T+2:01 BECO
		T+2:04 Booster sep
		T+2:24 Fairing sep
		T+5:24 SECO
		T+5:43 VECO
	1128	T+5:49 Atlas sep, 896 km
	1133	T+10:27 AKM burn 43s
	1134	T+11:10 AKM burnout
	1134	T+11:15 RCS trim
	1134	T+11:38 RCS cutoff	102.07 848 x 863 x 98.91
		T+13:47 Solar array deploy
		Atlas impact, 7770 km range
1994 May 21			101.59 825 x 842 x 98.93

Payload:

• AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer, 1 km res operating at 0.55-0.90, 0.725-1.10, 3.55-3.93, 10.5-11.5 and 11.5-12.5 mu, for cloud mapping, water imaging, and sea surface temperature.

• TOVS Tiros-N operational vertical sounder

  • SSU Stratospheric sounding unit 147 km res, CO2 15 mu band

  • MSU Microwave sounding unit 109 km res, O2 50-57 GHz band

  • HIRS/2 Tropospheric Hi res IR radiation sounder 17 km res, 0.7 mu vis and 3.7, 4.3, 6.7, 9.7, 11, 15 mu IR (CO2, O3, H2O)

• DCS/ARGOS Data collection system (CNES), 401 MHz

• SEM Space Environment Monitor (measures solar X-rays and particle fluxes)

  • TED Total energy detector, 0.3-20 keV

  • MEPED Med energy p/e, 30 - 60 keV

  • HEPAD High energe p/alpha, 0.37-850 MeV