TIROS-2
Sign in to saveAlso known as TIROS-B, A-2
TIROS-2 (or TIROS-B) was a spin-stabilized meteorological satellite. It was the second in a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites. It re-entered in May 2014.
Key facts
- Spaceflight.name
- TIROS-2
- Spaceflight.image
- TIROS II Spac0116-repair.jpg
- Spaceflight.image_caption
- TIROS-2 before launch
- Spaceflight.mission_type
- Weather satellite
- Spaceflight.operator
- NASA
- Spaceflight.Harvard_designation
- 1960 Pi 1
- Spaceflight.SATCAT
- 63
- Spaceflight.mission_duration
- 376 days
- Spaceflight.spacecraft_type
- TIROS
- Spaceflight.manufacturer
- RCA AstroGSFC
- Spaceflight.launch_date
- UTC
- Spaceflight.launch_rocket
- Thor DM-19 Delta
- Spaceflight.launch_site
- Cape Canaveral LC-17A
- Spaceflight.decay_date
- May 2014
- Spaceflight.orbit_epoch
- December 8, 2013, 11:58:18 UTC
- Spaceflight.orbit_reference
- Geocentric
- Spaceflight.orbit_regime
- Low Earth
- Spaceflight.orbit_inclination
- 48.51 degrees
via Wikipedia infobox
~3 min read
Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Spacecraft
- Launch
- Instruments
- Gallery
- References
TIROS-2 (or TIROS-B) was a spin-stabilized meteorological satellite. It was the second in a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites. It re-entered in May 2014.
== Spacecraft == TIROS-2 was an 18-sided right prism, 107 cm in diameter and 56 cm high, with 9,260 1 by 2 cm silicon solar cells covered the top and sides. Five small directly opposed pairs of solid-fuel thrusters maintained a spin of 8 to 12 rpm. For attitude control, the spacecraft used an infrared horizon sensor and a magnetic attitude control device, made of 250 cores of wire wound around the outer surface, which oriented the spin axis to a 1 to 2 degree accuracy. It also had a direction indicator for picture orientation.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “TIROS-2” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.