Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

Applications Technology Satellite 6 (ATS 6), active from 1974-1979, was the last in the ATS series of experimental satellites sponsored by NASA to test new technologies in space communications. ATS-6 operated from geosynchronous orbit and contained nineteen communications and technology experiments. The Museum's artifact is a full-scale Thermal Structural Model used as an engineering tool during development of the actual satellite to analyze and design for the effects of launch vibration and the extreme temperatures of space.

The bridge truss and Environmental Measurements Experiment (EME) package are components parts of ATS-6. The truss supports the spacecraft's parabolic solar panels. The truss also serves as the base for the EME, a package of eight instruments designed to collect data on the space environment at geostationary altitude (35,786 kilometers; 22,236 miles).

The Museum's artifact was transferred from NASA in 1978.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type SPACECRAFT-Uncrewed-Parts & Structural Components Manufacturer Fairchild
 Dimensions Storage (Rehoused on an aluminum pallet): 153 × 153 × 167.6cm, 156.5kg (60 1/4 × 60 1/4 × 66 in., 345lb.)
 Materials Aluminum, Paint, Steel
 Inventory Number A19780163001 Credit Line Transferred from NASA Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.