On this day in space! April 1, 1960: NASA launches TIROS-1, first US weather satellite

On April 1, 1960, the U.S. launched its first weather satellite into orbit. The satellite was named TIROS-1, which is short for Television Infrared Observation Satellite.

TIROS-1 launched on a Thor-Able rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida and entered a polar orbit, which enabled it to see the entire globe. It watched the Earth from space for 78 days before an electrical power failure cut its mission short.

NASA technicians prepare the world's first weather satellite, TIROS-1, for its launch on April 1, 1960. (Image credit: NASA)

The satellite was equipped with TV cameras and video recorders that transmitted images of Earth's cloud coverage directly to ground stations.

This mission enabled the first accurate weather forecasts based on data and images from space. It also showed scientists that satellites could be useful tools for studying the Earth.

On This Day in Space: See our full 365-day video archive!

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Hanneke Weitering
Contributing expert

Hanneke Weitering is a multimedia journalist in the Pacific Northwest reporting on the future of aviation at FutureFlight.aero and Aviation International News and was previously the Editor for Spaceflight and Astronomy news here at Space.com. As an editor with over 10 years of experience in science journalism she has previously written for Scholastic Classroom Magazines, MedPage Today and The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After studying physics at the University of Tennessee in her hometown of Knoxville, she earned her graduate degree in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting (SHERP) from New York University. Hanneke joined the Space.com team in 2016 as a staff writer and producer, covering topics including spaceflight and astronomy. She currently lives in Seattle, home of the Space Needle, with her cat and two snakes. In her spare time, Hanneke enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains, basking in nature and looking for dark skies to gaze at the cosmos. 

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.