RCA [Astro Electronics]

De-accessed by NASA Langley Research Center via GSA Auction;

Private Collector, Acquired in the Above

The TIROS Program (Television Infrared Observation Satellite) was NASA's first full-scale endeavor to determine if satellites could be used to study the Earth from space. As weather forecasting was seen as the most promising application of such knowledge, TIROS-1 was launched on April 1, 1960, with the primary goal of "test[ing] experimental television techniques designed to develop a worldwide meteorological satellite information system."

The success of TIROS-1, alongside that of its successor satellites (some of which are still in operation), not only allowed for the first accurate weather forecasts compiled from data gathered in space, but also demonstrated the usefulness of satellites for civilian purposes alongside those of military reconnaissance.

LITERATURE:

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/tiros