Interplanetary space between the Earth and Venus was the subject area for Pioneer 5, launched March 11, 1960. The satellite tested long-range communications systems, developed methods for measuring astronomical distances, studied the effects of solar flares, and performed other tasks before it went into orbit around the Sun.
With increasing interest in the earth’s space environment, a satellite was launched on September 7, 1967, to investigate the impact of space on biological processes. Biosatellite 2 was the second satellite in the program of three such vehicles. Frog eggs, plants, micro-organisms and insects were placed in orbit to enable scientists to study the combined effects of weightlessness, artificially produced radiation, and the absence of the normal day-night cycle on these organisms. Following two days in space, the capsule containing the experimental package reentered the atmosphere and was caught in mid-air by an Air Force recovery aircraft.
Vanguard 1 is from John P. Hagan. Vanguard 3, Explorer 10, Explorer 12, AE-A, Ariel 1, IMP-E & F, and Biosatellite 2 are from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The models of Explorer 6 and Pioneer 5 are from Space Technology Laboratories.
Meteorological Satellites
35. TOS satellite is covered with solar cells.
Weather forecasts are important to everyone—in planning whether or not to carry an umbrella, when to plant crops, when to evacuate riverbank areas. Nineteenth-century American meteorologists relied on local weather observations telegraphed to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington and then plotted on a large map of the nation from which forecasts were prepared.
When Tiros-1 returned the first global cloud-cover picture in 1960, meteorologists were on their way to more accurate forecasts. Since the satellite pictures offered more comprehensive weather data over a larger geographic area, the identification of weather patterns became more reliable.
While our knowledge of atmospheric conditions is still imperfect, we have learned to make reasonably accurate regional weather forecasts and to identify and track violent storms and hurricanes based on satellite information.