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Nimbus program
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<h2 id="contributions">Contributions</h2> <h3>Weather forecasting</h3> <p>At the time of its launch, the idea that intangible properties such as <a href="/facts/Air_pressure/wJLMSaVG">air pressure</a> could be observed using a satellite orbiting hundreds of miles above the Earth was revolutionary. With each Nimbus mission, scientists broadened their ability to collect <a href="/facts/Earth%27s_atmosphere/FV97Am25">atmospheric</a> characteristics that improved <a href="/facts/Weather_forecasting/nzqyMFCa">weather forecasting</a>, including ocean and air temperatures, air pressure, and <a href="/facts/Cloud/KDgo0Wqu">cloudiness</a>. Beginning with the Nimbus 3 satellite in 1969, temperature information through the atmospheric column began to be retrieved by satellites from the eastern Atlantic and most of the Pacific Ocean, which led to significant forecast improvements.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> The global coverage provided by Nimbus satellites made accurate 3–5 day forecasts possible for the first time. </p><p>The ability of the Nimbus satellites to detect <a href="/facts/Electromagnetic_energy/8QHpm6KY">electromagnetic energy</a> in multiple <a href="/facts/Wavelength/kcJU0ymz">wavelengths</a> (multi-spectral data), in particular the <a href="/facts/Microwave/HmVSN31Y">microwave</a> region of the <a href="/facts/Electromagnetic_spectrum/24LARvFY">electromagnetic spectrum</a>, made it possible for scientists to look into the atmosphere and tell the difference between <a href="/facts/Water_vapor/DX5IUFG0">water vapor</a> and liquid water in clouds. In addition, they were able to measure atmospheric temperature even in the presence of clouds, a capability that allowed scientists to take the temperature in the "warm core" of <a href="/facts/Hurricane/FQzVXly7">hurricanes</a>. </p> <h3>Radiation budget</h3> <p>One of the most important scientific contributions of the Nimbus missions was their measurements of the Earth's <a href="/facts/Radiation_budget/PHytQRdx">radiation budget</a>. For the first time, scientists had global, direct observations of the amount of solar radiation entering and exiting the Earth system. The observations helped to verify and refine the earliest climate models, and are still making important contributions to the study of <a href="/facts/Climate_change/rEN4BDE7">climate change</a>. As scientists consider the causes and <a href="/facts/Effects_of_global_warming/M5EvHf14">effects of global warming</a>, Nimbus radiation budget data provide a base for long-term analyses and make change-detection studies possible. The Nimbus technology gave rise to current radiation-budget sensors, such as the <a href="/facts/Clouds_and_the_Earth%27s_Radiant_Energy_System/5v32xlky">CERES</a> instruments on NASA's <a href="/facts/Terra_(satellite)/HFQuzF66">Terra</a> and <a href="/facts/Aqua_(satellite)/QXaLRTAv">Aqua</a> satellites.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p> <h3>Ozone layer</h3> <p>Even before the Nimbus satellites began collecting their observations of Earth's <a href="/facts/Ozone_layer/v4KfjalC">ozone layer</a>, scientists had some understanding of the processes that maintained or destroyed it. They were pretty sure they understood how the layer formed, and they knew from laboratory experiments that <a href="/facts/Halogen/YeFgWHeA">halogens</a> could destroy <a href="/facts/Ozone/o0E5gn2p">ozone</a>. Finally, <a href="/facts/Weather_balloon/yYenKMYA">weather balloons</a> had revealed that the concentration of ozone in the atmosphere changed over time, and scientists suspected weather phenomena or seasonal change were responsible. But how all of these pieces of information worked together on a global scale was still unclear. </p><p>Scientists conducted experiments from NASA experimental aircraft and proved that atmospheric chemicals such as the <a href="/facts/Chlorofluorocarbon/uLApxm7K">chlorofluorocarbons</a> (CFCs) released from <a href="/facts/Refrigerant/rI60t5zU">refrigerants</a> and <a href="/facts/Aerosol_spray/8SfNdfYs">aerosol sprays</a> did destroy ozone. As Nimbus 7 satellite observations accumulated between 1978 and 1994, it became increasingly clear that CFCs were creating an <a href="/facts/Ozone_hole/ssGWpcx3">ozone hole</a> each winter season over <a href="/facts/Antarctica/bEM5Lem5">Antarctica</a>. Not only that, but despite some year-to-year variations, it appeared the hole was becoming larger. The Nimbus measurements made clear how severe the ozone hole problem was.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p> <table><tbody><tr><th colspan="3">NASA's Nimbus contractors<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></th></tr><tr><th>Company</th><th>System</th><th>Amount*</th></tr><tr><td rowspan="3"><a href="/facts/General_Electric/bBm5CzVY">General Electric</a></td><td>Prime</td><td>$2,100,000</td></tr><tr><td>Control & stabilization</td><td>1,515,710</td></tr><tr><td>5-watt transmitter</td><td>92,652</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/RCA/NWyjNN6R">RCA</a></td><td>Cameras & solar power</td><td>302,324</td></tr><tr><td>Vidicon and solar power</td><td>—</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/IT%26T/X2Fhl3IS">IT&T Labs</a></td><td>High-resolution IR radiometer</td><td>139,235</td></tr><tr><td>Santa Barbara Research Center</td><td>Medium-resolution IR</td><td>343,426</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/New_Mexico_College_of_Agriculture_and_Mechanic_Arts/CRh0lEgp">New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts</a></td><td>Antennas</td><td>69,384</td></tr><tr><td>California Computer Products, Inc.</td><td>Clock</td><td>—</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Ampex/xkhpGCzF">Ampex</a></td><td>Tape recorder</td><td>—</td></tr><tr><td>Radiation Inc.</td><td>PCM telemetry</td><td>—</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Contract sums are for research for development and delivery for first two Nimbus launchings</td></tr></tbody></table> <h3>Sea ice</h3> <p>Nimbus satellites collected orbital data on the extent of the polar caps in the mid-1960s, recorded in the visible and infrared parts of the spectrum. These first global snapshots of Earth's icecaps provide invaluable reference points for climate change studies. During a narrowing window of opportunity for <a href="/facts/Data_archaeology/fkNf1BhN">data archaeology</a>, the <a href="/facts/National_Snow_and_Ice_Data_Center/m4mHRQa1">National Snow and Ice Data Center</a> (NDISC) and NASA were able to recover data that allowed the reconstruction of high-resolution Nimbus 2 images from 1966 showing the entire Arctic and Antarctic ice caps.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p><p>When the Nimbus 5 spacecraft launched in 1972, scientists planned for its <a href="/facts/Electrically_Scanning_Microwave_Radiometer/zHErrVem">Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer</a> to collect global observations of where and how much it rained across the world. However, a new priority for the sensor evolved in the months following its launch: mapping global <a href="/facts/Sea_ice/tgTbCYwg">sea ice</a> concentrations. When Nimbus 7 launched in 1978, technology had improved enough for scientists to distinguish newly formed (i.e., "first year") sea ice from older ice, with the <a href="/facts/Scanning_Multichannel_Microwave_Radiometer/veNPIS7V">Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer</a> (SMMR) sensor. The data it collected during its 9-year lifespan provide a significant chunk of the long-term record of Earth's <a href="/facts/Sea_ice_concentration/b7bbznj5">sea ice concentration</a> that today's scientists use for studies of climate change. </p><p>Among the most serendipitous discoveries that the Nimbus missions made possible was that of a gaping hole in the sea ice around Antarctica in the Southern Hemisphere winters of 1974–76. In a phenomenon that has not been observed since, an enormous, ice-free patch of water, called a <a href="/facts/Polynya/15QwVxda">polynya</a>, developed three years in a row in the seasonal ice that encases Antarctica each winter. Located in the <a href="/facts/Weddell_Sea/oqM0CUF8">Weddell Sea</a>, each year the polynya vanished with the summer melt, but returned the following year. The open patch of water may have influenced ocean temperatures as far down as 2,500 meters and influenced ocean circulation over a wide area. The Weddell Sea Polynya has not been observed since the event witnessed by the Nimbus satellites in the mid-70s. </p> <h3>Global positioning system</h3> <p>Nimbus satellites (beginning with Nimbus 3 in 1969) blazed the trail into the modern <a href="/facts/GPS/DKVLnzF3">GPS</a> era with operational <a href="/facts/Search_and_rescue/pdLTUPgl">search and rescue</a> and data collection systems. The satellites tested the first technology that allowed satellites to locate weather-observation stations set up in remote locations and to command the stations to transmit their data back to the satellite. The most famous demonstration of the new technology was through the record-breaking flight of British aviator <a href="/facts/Sheila_Scott/QAGGTutr">Sheila Scott</a>, who tested the Nimbus navigation and locator communication system when she made the first-ever solo flight over the <a href="/facts/North_Pole/gjfItQJH">North Pole</a> in 1971. </p><p>The Nimbus ground-to-satellite-to-ground communication system demonstrated the first satellite-based search and rescue system. Among the earliest successes were the rescue of two <a href="/facts/Hot_air_balloon/k2LHQvXH">hot air balloonists</a> who went down in the <a href="/facts/North_Atlantic/EI4uChIb">North Atlantic</a> in 1977 and, later that year, tracking a <a href="/facts/Japan/U5mz0SRT">Japanese</a> adventurer on his first attempt to be the first person to <a href="/facts/Dogsled/Mt63bsSS">dogsled</a> solo to the North Pole through <a href="/facts/Greenland/aagXRTB7">Greenland</a>. Tens of thousands of people over the past three decades have been rescued through the Search and Rescue Satellite-aided Tracking (<a href="/facts/SARSAT/JHaAbw9x">SARSAT</a>) operational system on NOAA satellites. </p> <h3>Nuclear power</h3> <p>Nimbus-3 was the first satellite to use a <a href="/facts/SNAP-19/C06sfFEG">SNAP-19</a> <a href="/facts/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator/Tsjjvp5h">radioisotope thermoelectric generator</a> (RTG) in space. A previous attempt was made to launch a SNAP-19 RTG on Nimbus-B-1, but the rocket was destroyed and the nuclear fuel landed in the <a href="/facts/Santa_Barbara_Channel/ydgtSCDx">Santa Barbara Channel</a>. Later, the fuel was recovered from the wreckage at a depth of 300 feet (91 m) and re-purposed for Nimbus-3 as the SNAP-19B.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> This power source augmented the solar array with an additional 28.2 W of electrical power.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="operation-history-of-the-nimbus-satellites">Operation history of the Nimbus satellites</h2> <table><tbody><tr><th>Satellite</th><th>Launch Date</th><th>Decay Date</th><th>Perigee</th><th>Apogee</th><th>Launch Site</th><th>Launch Vehicle</th><th>COSPAR ID</th><th>Mass</th></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Nimbus_1/pc7QhQNn">Nimbus 1</a></td><td>August 28, 1964</td><td>May 16, 1974</td><td>429 km</td><td>937 km</td><td><a href="/facts/Vandenberg_Air_Force_Base/CHNed3F4">Vandenberg 75-1-1</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Thor-Agena/mYlCcTGM">Thor-Agena</a> B</td><td>1964-052A</td><td>374 kg</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Nimbus_2/IHjESjCY">Nimbus 2</a></td><td>May 15, 1966<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a></td><td>January 17, 1969</td><td>1103 km</td><td>1169 km</td><td><a href="/facts/Vandenberg_Air_Force_Base/CHNed3F4">Vandenberg 75-1-1</a></td><td>Thor-Agena B</td><td>1966-040A</td><td>413 kg</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Nimbus_B/8KFFNB0v">Nimbus B</a></td><td>May 18, 1968<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a></td><td>Destroyed at launch</td><td>---</td><td>---</td><td><a href="/facts/Vandenberg_Air_Force_Base/CHNed3F4">Vandenberg SLC-2E</a></td><td>Thor-Agena D</td><td>—</td><td>572 kg</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Nimbus_3/GpVe0xfA">Nimbus 3</a></td><td>April 13, 1969</td><td>January 22, 1972</td><td>1075 km</td><td>1135 km</td><td><a href="/facts/Vandenberg_Air_Force_Base/CHNed3F4">Vandenberg SLC-2E</a></td><td>Thor-Agena B</td><td>1969-037A</td><td>576 kg</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Nimbus_4/pdbodYog">Nimbus 4</a></td><td>April 8, 1970</td><td>September 30, 1980</td><td>1092 km</td><td>1108 km</td><td>Vandenberg SLC-2E</td><td>Thor-Agena</td><td>1970-025A</td><td>619 kg</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Nimbus_5/auGGTQUe">Nimbus 5</a></td><td>December 11, 1972</td><td>-</td><td>1089 km</td><td>1101 km</td><td>Vandenberg SLC-2W</td><td><a href="/facts/Delta_(rocket_family)/gQH4EUYB">Delta</a></td><td>1972-097A</td><td>770 kg</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Nimbus_6/wpoTrQxq">Nimbus 6</a></td><td>June 12, 1975</td><td>-</td><td>1093 km</td><td>1101 km</td><td>Vandenberg SLC-2W</td><td>Delta</td><td>1975-052A</td><td>585 kg</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Nimbus_7/Kug6CTxR">Nimbus 7</a></td><td>October 24, 1978</td><td>1994</td><td>941 km</td><td>954 km</td><td>Vandenberg SLC-2W</td><td>Delta</td><td>1978-098A</td><td>832 kg</td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Coastal_Zone_Color_Scanner/4Wuh5PN8">Coastal Zone Color Scanner</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to NIMBUS program. <ul><li><a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/earth/nimbus.html">http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/earth/nimbus.html</a> Nimbus Program</li> <li><a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/earth/nimbus_sensor.html">http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/earth/nimbus_sensor.html</a> Experimental Instrumentation on-board Nimbus satellites</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Lindsey, Rebecca (July 19, 2005). "Nimbus: 40th Anniversary". NASA Earth Observatory. Retrieved May 16, 2006. <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/Nimbus/" target="_blank">https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/Nimbus/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>National Environmental Satellite Center (January 1970). "SIRS and the Improved Marine Weather Forecast". Mariners Weather Log. 14 (1). Environmental Science Services Administration: 12–15. <a href="/wiki/Mariners_Weather_Log" target="_blank">/wiki/Mariners_Weather_Log</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"The Earth's Radiation Budget". July 19, 2005. Retrieved October 30, 2017. <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Nimbus/nimbus2.php" target="_blank">https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Nimbus/nimbus2.php</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Bhartia, Pawan Kumar; McPeters, Richard D. (2018). "The discovery of the Antarctic Ozone Hole". Comptes Rendus Geoscience. 350 (7). Elsevier BV: 335–340. Bibcode:2018CRGeo.350..335B. doi:10.1016/j.crte.2018.04.006. hdl:2060/20190002263. ISSN 1631-0713. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.crte.2018.04.006" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.crte.2018.04.006</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Missiles and Rockets, March 13, 1961, p. 34. <a href="https://archive.org/stream/missilesrockets8196unse#page/n669/mode/2up" target="_blank">https://archive.org/stream/missilesrockets8196unse#page/n669/mode/2up</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Techno-archaeology rescues climate data from early satellites Archived January 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), January 2010 WebCitation Archive <a href="http://nsidc.org/monthlyhighlights/2010/02/techno-archaeology-rescues-climate-data-from-early-satellites/" target="_blank">http://nsidc.org/monthlyhighlights/2010/02/techno-archaeology-rescues-climate-data-from-early-satellites/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Atomic Power in Space II: A History 2015" (PDF). inl.gov. Idaho National Laboratory. September 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2018. <a href="https://www.inl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/AtomicPowerInSpaceII-AHistory_2015_Appendices-References1.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.inl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/AtomicPowerInSpaceII-AHistory_2015_Appendices-References1.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Nimbus III – NASA Radioisotope Power Systems". NASA Radioisotope Power Systems. NASA. Retrieved June 15, 2018. <a href="https://rps.nasa.gov/missions/8/nimbus-iii/" target="_blank">https://rps.nasa.gov/missions/8/nimbus-iii/</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Environmental Science Services Administration (July 1966). "On the Editor's Desk". Mariners Weather Log. 10 (4). Department of Commerce: 122. <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>The Day the Nimbus Weather Satellite Exploded, by Maya Wei-Haas, Smithsonian magazine (January 2017) <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/day-nimbus-weather-satellie-180961686/#VSeWSGocqrSbQwRp.99" target="_blank">https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/day-nimbus-weather-satellie-180961686/#VSeWSGocqrSbQwRp.99</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>