Also called:
Nimbus G
Date of launch (location):
Oct. 24, 1978 (WTR)
Launch vehicle:
Delta 2910
Weight (kg):
987
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:
Ronald K. Browning
Project scientist:
William R. Bandeen
Objectives:
To determine the feasibility of
mapping upper atmospheric characteristics; to determine the
feasibility to apply space-collected oceanographic data for
science and applications purposes, and to extend the solar
and Earth radiation data base.
Equipment:
Temperature Humidity Infrared
Radiometer (THIR)
Earth Radiation Budget Experiment
(ERB)
Limb Infrared Monitoring of the
Stratosphere (LIMS)
Stratospheric and Mesospheric Sounder
(SAMS)
Stratospheric Aerosol Measurement II
(Sam II)
Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet and
Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (SBUV/TOMS)
Scanning Multichannel Microwave
Radiometer (SMMR)
Coastal Zone Color Scanner
(CZCS)
Results:
Successful; last of the series; in
1983 the satellite entered its fifth year of uninterrupted
operations; first satellite designed to monitor manned and
natural pollutants; mapped ozone distrubution.
Reference: NASA, "Nimbus 7 Mission Operations Report," S-604-75-08, Sept. 1, 1978.