Engineering:Nimbus B

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Short description: U.S. meteorological satellite, lost in a launch failure
Nimbus B
Mission typeWeather satellite
OperatorNASA
COSPAR IDNIMBS-B
Mission durationLaunch failure
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerRCA Astrospace
Launch mass571.5 kilograms (1,260 lb)[1]
Start of mission
RocketThorad-SLV2G Agena-D
Launch siteVandenberg Air Force Base SLC-2E
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
EpochPlanned[1]
 

Nimbus B was a meteorological satellite launched as part of the Nimbus program. It was released on May 18, 1968 from the Vandenberg Air Force Base , Lompoc, California, by means of a Thor-Agena launch vehicle, together with the SECOR 10 satellite. Nimbus B never achieved orbit because a malfunction in the booster guidance system forced the destruction of the spacecraft and its payload during launch.

The Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator SNAP-19 RTG was salvaged from the water, refurbished and later flown on Nimbus 3.[2]

Intact SNAP-19 fuel capsule is shown among debris on Pacific Ocean floor, resulting from the aborted launch of a Nimbus B.

Instruments

  • High Data Rate Storage System (DHRSS)
  • High and Medium-Resolution Infrared Radiometers (HRIR/MRIR)
  • Image Dissector Camera System (IDCS)
  • Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer (IRIS)
  • Monitor of Ultraviolet Solar Energy (MUSE)
  • Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (SNAP-19)
  • Real-time transmission System (RTTS)
  • Satellite Infrared Spectrometer (SIRS)

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Nimbus B". National Space Science Data Center Master Catalog. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=NIMBS-B.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. "Nimbus B". NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=NIMBS-B.