ATS-1 (Applications Technology Satellite 1) was the first experimental geostationary satellite, launched in 1966. Though intended as a

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth ...

rather than as a

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, it carried the Spin Scan Cloud Camera developed by Verner E. Suomi and Robert Parent at the

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. After entering an

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at above

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, initially in orbit over

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, it transmitted

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images from the Western Hemisphere, as well as other data, to ground stations, including well as

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feeds for

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. It took one of the first pictures of the Earth's full-disk (the first from a geostationary orbit), on December 11, 1966.

"For the first time," historians would note later, "rapid-imaging of nearly an entire hemisphere was possible. We could watch, fascinated, as storm systems developed and moved and were captured in a time series of images. Today such images are an indispensable part of weather analysis and forecasting."

It was the first satellite to use

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which accepted multiple independent signals and downlinked them in a single carrier. The spacecraft measured in diameter, high and weighed .Missions – ATS – NASA Science
/ref> The ATS-1 satellite was used during the 1967 international television broadcast '' Our World'', providing a link between the United States and Australia during the program. The ATS-1 would remain operational for more than 18 years, until April, 1985.

Features

This satellite was cylindrical, with a diameter of and a height of ; an additional in height was the engine cover. The surface was covered with solar panels, and the whole satellite was stabilized by rotation.

Instruments

A total of fifteen experiments were conducted during the mission:Experiment Search Results

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

NSSDC Master Catalog. Retrieved 2016-22-05. * Suprathermal Ion Detector * Biaxial Fluxgate Magnetometer * Omnidirectional Spectrometer * Electron Spectrometer * Particle Telescope * Solar Cell Radiation Damage * Thermal Coating Degradation * Rate Range Beacon * Spin-Scan Camera cloudcover * Microwave communication transponder * Communication VHF transponder * Nutation sensor * Resist-Jet Thruster * Faraday Rotation * Meteorological Data Relay System

References

Spacecraft launched in 1966 Weather satellites of the United States Communications satellites of the United States Applications Technology Satellites {{US-spacecraft-stub