EXP7L1TRTALL: Explorer-7 Satellite Temperature Readings from All Sensors, 1959-1960

Temperature readings from all five bolometers on the Explorer-7 satellite, designed to measure solar, reflected, and terrestrial radiation. The data cover the mission period from October 19, 1959, to June 4, 1960, and were restored from their original IBM 36-bit word binary format. Principal Investigator Verner E. Suomi from the University of Wisconsin led the experiment, which successfully returned the first set of Earth-looking radiation data from space.

Use Cases

• Analyzing early measurements of Earth's radiation balance based on bolometer temperature readings.
• Studying the temporal evolution of solar and terrestrial radiation data from the first Earth-looking satellite experiment.
• Calibrating or validating models of historical atmospheric conditions based on the 1959-1960 time series.
• Researching the technical specifications and data recovery methods for early IBM 7094 machine formats.

Strengths

• Represents the first set of Earth-looking radiation data returned from space, providing a historical baseline.
• Covers a defined mission period from October 1959 to June 1960 with two continuous data files.
• Data have been restored and archived from their original format, preserving the raw record.

Limitations

• No geolocation information is included with the temperature readings.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data format is the original IBM 36-bit word binary, which may require specialized tools for interpretation.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC).

Collection Method

Collected by the Thermal Radiation Experiment's five bolometers on the Explorer-7 satellite.

Time Range

October 19, 1959 to June 4, 1960 (instrument operational until February 28, 1961).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:49:57.383293; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Satellite coverage with a radius of approximately 2500 km at perigee and 3500 km at apogee; no specific geolocation data.