NASA's meteorological satellite programs have long been an important method of gathering weather information. The Microwave Sounding Unit has been used on Tiros weather satellites to measure the temperature profile of the Earth's atmosphere. Join curator Martin Collins as he discusses how the data from the instrument has become part of a broad scientific and public discussion on the question of global warming.
Meet at the nose of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird in the Boeing Aviation Hangar.
About the Ask an Expert Series: Several times a month at 12:30 pm at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, a Museum staff member talks to the public about the history, collection, or individuals related to a specific artifact or exhibition in the Museum. For upcoming dates of the Udvar-Hazy Center Ask an Expert lecture series, click here.
This is a flight spare of the Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU), an instrument flown on Tiros meteorological satellites beginning with Tiros-N in 1978. This MSU (designated Flight Model 8) was built in 1984 by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, but never flew.