Also called:
Nimbus D
Date of launch (location):
April 8, 1970 (WTR)
Launch vehicle:
Thorad-Agena D
Weight (kg):
571
Shape:
butterfly (1.42-meter torus ring base
and hexagonal shaped housing plus two solar paddle
wings)
Dimensions (m):
3.05 tall
3.55 wide
1.52 diameter ring
Power source:
Solar panels plus 8 NiCd
batteries
Responsible NASA center:
GE Company
Project manager:
Harry Press
Project scientist:
William Nordberg
Objectives:
Acquire global samples of atmospheric
radiation measurements to compare vertical temperature,
water vapor, and ozone profiles; demonstrate feasibility of
determining wind velocity fields by tracking multiple
balloons.
Equipment:
Advanced TV Image Dissector Camera
System (IDCS)
Satellite Infrared Spectrometer
(SIRS)
Monitor of Ultraviolet Solar Energy
(MUSE)
Interrogation, Recording, and
Location System (IRLS)
Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer
(IRIS)
Backscatter Ultraviolet Spectrometer
(BUV)
Filter Wedge Spectrometer
(FWS)
Selective Chopper Radiometer
(SCR)
Temperature Humidity Infrared
Radiometer (THIR)
Results:
Successful and versatile; six of the
nine experiments were still operational in 1975.
Reference: NASA, "Nimbus 4 Mission Operations Report," S-604-70-04, Apr. 6, 1970.