Paul Menzel

SSEC
UW-Madison

A Wisconsin perspective on 40 years of geostationary observations of the Earth

Room 811 AOSS, Monday, Feb. 12, 2006, 3:30 PM

Abstract

On 06 December 1966, NASA launched the Applications Technology Satellite–I (ATS–I) at Cape Canaveral, carrying as its payload, the Spin–Scan Cloud Camera. The camera, one of Verner Suomi’s “gadgets”, started a revolution in satellite meteorology felt around the globe. Not only did the ATS–I transmit the first full–disk Earth images from geosynchronous orbit, but the technology pioneered continuous viewing of weather from space. The ability to obtain continuous satellite imagery of fixed points on the Earth, allowed scientists to study changing meteorological conditions for the first time. This talk reviews some of the early history of satellite remote sensing that lead to the first geostationary observations, presents their importance to the global observing system, and summarizes some of the current applications.