Display Status This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.

The Television Infra-Red Observation Satellite (Tiros) program was an outgrowth of the weather satellite program of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the mid-1950s. In 1958 ARPA let out a contract to the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) for ten satellites. In April 1959 the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) assumed responsibility for Project Tiros and the first of ten research and development launches occurred one year later (1 April 1960). On 2 July 1965 NASA launches the tenth and last of the original RCA satellites, by which time NASA, the Weather Bureau (later the Environmental Science Services Administration, ESSA), and RCA had agreed on the Tiros Operational Satellite (TOS) program. The nine TOS system satellites, coded ESSA, were all launched successfully between February 1966 and February 1969. The ESSA series were followed by five Improved Tiros Operational System (ITOS) satellites, for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the successor to ESSA. The Tiros/TOS/ESSA program provided the first system for gathering meteorological information, including daily information on cloud cover, upper level winds, pressure, and precipitation on a global scale.

 Identifier

NASM.XXXX.0199

 Creator

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

 Date

1959-1970

 Provenance

NASA, Gift, 1965, XXXX-0199, Public Domain

 Extent

5.45 Cubic feet ((5 records center boxes))

 Restrictions

No restrictions on access

 Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Publications

Reports

Photographs

 Scope and Contents

This collection contains documents pertaining to the Tiros/TOS/ESSA program. The material consists primarily of mission plans, engineering reports, and field operation procedures.

 Genre/Form

Publications

Reports

Photographs

 Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

 Names

ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency)

Radio Corporation of America.

United States. Army Ballistic Missile Agency

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

United States. Weather Bureau

 Topics Meteorology -- Research
Meteorology
Meteorological satellites
TIROS satellites
Astronautics

 Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

 Finding Aid Online Finding Aid