SMS 100 Chapter Notes - Chapter Appendix A: Algal Bloom, Quikscat, Seawifs

• School: University of Maine
• Department: Marine Science
• Course: SMS 100
• Professor: David Townsend

Document Summary

With advances in technology after wwii, it became possible to launch small cargoes into space and into earth orbit. Sputnik: launched on october 4, 1957 by the soviet union, first artificial spacecraft launched into space, the size of a basketball, weighed 183 pounds, took 98 minutes to orbit earth. This caused the space race between the soviets and us. Telstar satellite (usa: july 1962, 1st live trans-atlantic tv transmission. Two types of artificial satellites: communication, observing. There are various types of orbits a satellite can follow around earth. Geostationary orbiting satellites: high altitude orbit (20,000 miles, 36,000 km): orbit directly over the equator, therefore to an observer they do not seem to move, keeps pace (cid:449)ith earth"s rotation. Polar orbiting satellites: 330 mi, 600km. altitude: north-south orbit that takes them over the poles, cover every square inch of the earth, only good when it is cloud free. (cid:862)quik cat(cid:863) cattero(cid:373)eter: atellite radar to get (cid:449)i(cid:374)d speeds o(cid:448)er the ocean.