TIROS-2

TIROS-2
Spacecraft properties
TIROS-2 before launch

Mission type	Weather satellite
Operator	NASA^[1]
SATCAT №	63
Mission duration	376 days

Spacecraft type	TIROS
Manufacturer	RCA Astro GSFC
Launch mass	127 kilograms (280 lb)^[2]

Start of mission
Launch date	23 November 1960, 11:13:03 (1960-11-23UTC11:13:03Z) UTC^[3]
Rocket	Thor DM-19 Delta
Launch site	Cape Canaveral LC-17A

End of mission
Last contact	4 December 1961 (1961-12-05)
Decay date	May 2014

Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Semi-major axis	6,755.43 kilometers (4,197.63 mi)
Eccentricity	0.0014596
Perigee	374 kilometers (232 mi)
Apogee	394 kilometers (245 mi)
Inclination	48.51 degrees
Period	92.09 minutes
Epoch	8 December 2013, 11:58:18 UTC^[4]
Instruments
Widefield Radiometer Scanning Radiometer Television Camera System

TIROS 2 (or TIROS-B) was a spin-stabilized meteorological satellite. It was the second in a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellite. It re-entered in May 2014.^[5]

Launch

The launch of TIROS-2

TIROS 2 was launched on 23 November 1960 at 11:13:03 UTC, by a Thor-Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft functioned nominally until 22 January 1961. The satellite orbited the Earth once every 98 minutes, at an inclination of 48.5°. Its perigee was 609 kilometers (329 nmi) and apogee was 742 kilometers (401 nmi).

The satellite maintained a spin rate of 8–12 rpm by the use of five diametrically opposed pairs of small, solid-fuel thrusters. The spin axis could be oriented to within 1–2° accuracy by the use of a magnetic attitude control device, consisting of 250 cores of wire wound around the outer surface of the spacecraft. The interaction between the induced magnetic field in the spacecraft and the earth's magnetic field provided the necessary torque for attitude control. The spacecraft functioned nominally until 22 January 1961.

TIROS 2 was powered by 9,260 1-by-2-cm silicon solar cells. It had two independent television camera subsystems for taking pictures of cloud cover, plus a five-channel medium-resolution scanning radiometer and a two channel non-scanning low resolution radiometer for measuring radiation from the earth and its atmosphere.

References

↑ "TIROS". NASA Science. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
↑ "TIROS 2". National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
↑ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
↑ "TIROS 2 Satellite details 1960-016A NORAD 63". N2YO. 8 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
↑ TIROS 2

TIROS satellites

TIROS	TIROS-1 TIROS-2 TIROS-3 TIROS-4 TIROS-5 TIROS-6 TIROS-7 TIROS-8 TIROS-9 TIROS-10

TOS	ESSA-1 ESSA-2 ESSA-3 ESSA-4 ESSA-5 ESSA-6 ESSA-7 ESSA-8 ESSA-9

ITOS	TIROS-M NOAA-1 ITOS-B NOAA-2 NOAA-3 NOAA-4 NOAA-5 ITOS-E

TIROS-N	TIROS-N NOAA-6 NOAA-B NOAA-7

Adv. TIROS-N	NOAA-8 NOAA-9 NOAA-10 NOAA-11 NOAA-12 NOAA-13 NOAA-14 NOAA-15 NOAA-16 NOAA-17 NOAA-18 NOAA-19

← 1959 · Orbital launches in 1960 · 1961 →

Discoverer 9 \| Discoverer 10 \| Midas 1 \| Pioneer 5 \| S-46 \| TIROS-1 \| Transit 1B · Solrad \| Discoverer 11 \| Luna E-3 No.1 \| Luna E-3 No.2 \| Echo 1 \| Korabl-Sputnik 1 \| Midas 2 \| Transit 2A · Solrad 1 \| Discoverer 12 \| Vostok-1K No.1 \| Discoverer 13 \| Echo 1A \| Courier 1A \| Discoverer 14 \| Korabl-Sputnik 2 \| Discoverer 15 \| Pioneer P-30 \| Courier 1B \| Mars 1M No.1 \| Samos 1 \| Mars 1M No.2 \| Discoverer 16 \| Explorer 8 \| Discoverer 17 \| TIROS-2 \| Transit 3A · Solrad 2 \| Korabl-Sputnik 3 \| Explorer S-55 \| Discoverer 18 \| Pioneer P-31 \| Discoverer 19 \| Vostok-1K No.4

Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( \| ). Manned flights are indicated in bold text. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in brackets.

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