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VI TESTEN SE ET 
N 
March 15, 1978 
TIROS-N (Television and Infrared Observation Satellite) 
Third generation, polar-orbiting, operational weather satellite ’ 
Two-satellite system to replace ITOS system and provide all-digital data capability 
EXPECTED. LAUNCH: TIROS-N (NASA prototype): May 1978 to overlap ITOS and 
: assure uninterrupted data 
NOAA-A (operational): September 1978 
ORBIT: Sun-synchronous, near polar; orbital descending nodes spaced about 
60? longitude; one satellite orbits south across Equator in local forenoon, 
the other north across Equator in local afternoon for maximum daylight coverage 
Altitude: 833 km Inclination: 1029 Orbits per day: 14.2 
SENSORS: 
Measurement 
TIROS Operational Vertical 5 temperature soundings accurate 
Sounder (TOVS) to 1? C from surface to 50 km 
2nd generation HIRS 20 channels water vapor soundings to 15 km 
(High Resolution Infrared total ozone content of atmosphere 
Radiometer Sounder) 
Wavelength Resolution 
Advanced Very High 0.55-0.90 um cloud mapping 
Resolution Radiometer 0.725-1.0 um 4 km and' delineation of land/water and 
(AVHRR), 4-channel 3.55-3.93 um l km nelting/non-melting snow, ice 
all-digital system | 10.5-11.5 ym sea surface temperature (SST) 
thermal mapping in cloudy areas 
(noise equivalent temperature 
difference of 0.20°K) 
Space Fnvironment 
electron, proton, and X-ray 
Monitor (SEM) 
activity in near-Earth space 
*Data Collection and Platforn Location System (DCPLS) to monitor nearly 20C0 
platforms. Capable of tracking mobile platforms and collecting data from 
polar orbiting satellites. 3 
PURPOSE: 
Inprove long-range weather predictions 
Class-l observations of sea surface temperature víll increase tenfold 
(to 40,000/day) Resolution will increase to about 50 km 
SST fields vill encompass U.S. 200-mile Conservation and Management Zone 
Weekly isothermal analyses of Great Lakes and U.S. Coastal Zone will be 
prepared from full resolution AVHRR data 
GROUND STATIONS: Command and Data Acquisition (CDA) stations at Wallops, Va., 
and Cílmore Creek, Alaska. 
DATA AVAILABILITY: NESS (National Environmental Satellite Service), 
World Weather Building, Camp Springs, Md. 20031 
*For information on DCPLS, contact: Michel Bourdeil 
RCA-AED-MS-133 
. P. O. Box 800 
Princeton, N.J. 08540 
(609) 448-3400, ext. 2384 
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