Earth Observations from Space The First 50 Years of Scientific Achievements (2008) / Chapter Skim
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2 Earth Observations from Space: The Early History
2 Earth Observations from Space: The Early History
Pages 10-17
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From page 10... ...
satellite, Explorer 1, on was developed in the 1930s and 1940s; a V-2 rocket flight in January 31, 1958. 1947 photographed clouds from an altitude of 100 miles; and That year Congress enacted the National Defense by 1954 instrumented sounding rockets had serendipitously Education Act, which provided dramatically increased photographed an unknown tropical storm (Figure 2.1)
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From page 11... ...
Reprinted with permission from Tom wrote, "The TIROS satellites disclosed the existence of J orgensen, University of Iowa. storms in areas where few or no observations previously existed, revealed unsuspected structures of storms even in
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From page 12... ...
areas of extensive observational coverage, depicted snow fields over land, ice floes over water, and temperature pat terns on land and ocean as well as temperatures of tops of cloud layers." Because its accomplishments were clearly accessible to the general public, the TIROS program enjoyed strong politi cal support. The series of 10 TIROS satellites proved to be reliable and operationally successful, providing proof of the concept that sustained weather observations from space were possible.
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One of Suomi's important contributions to satellite data processing was the Man-Computer Interactive Data Access System, developed by an interdisciplinary team of electronics and computer engineers and programmers at the Space Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. This data system provided an important interface between the user, the computer, the databases, and ultimately, real-time sensors, including satellite-based instru ments, ground-based radar, and conventional and automated FIGURE 2.6 Harry Wexler.
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carried an advanced navigation and The GWE, at the time the largest fully international locator communications system, a forerunner of the Global scientific experiment ever undertaken, linked in situ and Positioning System (GPS) , that was used to track and intersatellite data with computer modeling in an attempt to rogate neutral buoyancy balloons; it also opened up the posimprove operational weather forecasting, determine the ulti- sibility of vertical temperature and water vapor soundings mate range of numerical weather prediction, and develop a and the ability to measure Earth's radiation budget above the scientific basis for climate modeling and prediction.
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in meteorology thetic aperture radar, altimeters, radiometers, and scatterom from the University of Chicago and spent most of eters. The instruments measured ocean surface topography, his career at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, boundary-layer ocean wind speed and direction, sea surface where he was co-founder of the Space Science and temperature, and polar sea ice conditions.
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From page 16... ...
Interestingly, this type of satellite does not contain any instrumentation, and for that reason the first such satellite launched in 1976 is still operational today. Spaceborne synthetic aperture radar enables observation of sea ice with much better accuracy than visible and passive microwave FIGURE 2.9 Artist's drawing of the general design of the Nimbus series of satellites.
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From page 17... ...
This no longer seems to be the case. A final issue derives from findings of the National Acad emies' recent decadal survey of Earth science missions that reports an actual "satellite gap" in which space resources will decrease dramatically compared to the scientific challenges FIGURE 2.10 Detail of sea ice off the west coast of Greenland associated with, for example, climate change research.
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