The Spin Scan Camera System: Geostationary Meteorological Satellite Workhorse for a Decade

Verner E. Suomi; Robert J. Krauss

doi:10.1117/12.7972172

1 February 1978 The Spin Scan Camera System: Geostationary Meteorological Satellite Workhorse for a Decade

Verner E. Suomi, Robert J. Krauss

Author Affiliations +

Optical Engineering, Vol. 17, Issue 1, 170106 (February 1978). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.7972172

Abstract

The spin scan camera was first flown on ATS-1 from 1966 to 1973 to continuously monitor the global atmospheric circulation. Later, modified versions with improved sensor capabilities were flown on ATS-3 and SMS. Today, the GOES series of spin scan cameras is in regular operational use. The value of the spin scan camera as a dependable meteorological workhorse requires proper functioning of the entire camera system, composed of four main elements: a) a spinning spacecraft whose highly stable and predictable motions generate a time divisible precision scan and therefore a metric image; b) a telescope having both on-axis image quality and a wide field of view; c) a data chain which in-corporates duty cycle improvement and uses the spacecraft as a communication link to distribute the image data to users; and d) image display and analysis techniques which permit organizing a large number of images in the time domain and efficiently selecting and measuring data of greatest importance.

Citation Download Citation

Verner E. Suomi and Robert J. Krauss "The Spin Scan Camera System: Geostationary Meteorological Satellite Workhorse for a Decade," Optical Engineering 17(1), 170106 (1 February 1978). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.7972172

Published: 1 February 1978

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