TIROS-9 was launched on January 22, 1965, by a Thor-Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The spacecraft functioned nominally until February 15, 1967. The satellite orbited the Earth once every 2 hours, at an inclination of 96°. Its perigee was 705 kilometers (438 mi) and apogee was 2,582 kilometers (1,604 mi).[1]
Mission
TIROS-9 was a spin-stabilized meteorological spacecraft designed to test experimental television techniques and infrared equipment. The satellite was in the form of an 18-sided right prism, 107 cm in diameter and 56 cm high. The top and sides of the spacecraft were covered with approximately 9000 1-by 2-cm silicon solar cells. It was equipped with 2 independent television camera subsystems for taking cloudcover pictures, plus an omnidirectional radiometer and a five-channel scanning radiometer for measuring radiation from the earth and its atmosphere. The satellite spin rate was maintained between 8 and 12 rpm by use of five diametrically opposed pairs of small, solid-fuel thrusters.
The TV system operated normally until April 1, 1965, when one of the wide-angle TV cameras failed. The other camera operated normally until July 26, 1965, and sporadically until February 15, 1967. TIROS 9 was the first satellite in the TIROS series to be placed in a near-polar orbit, thereby increasing TV coverage to the entire daylight portion of the Earth.[3]
^ abcdefgh"TIROS 9". National Space Science Data Center Master Catalog. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
^McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
^"TIROS 9 (1965-004A)". NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Retrieved June 4, 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in (brackets).
