ATS-6 Satellite Infrared Film Images Digitized to TIFF Files

Several hundred TIFF scans contain black and white infrared images from the Geosynchronous Very High Resolution Radiometer on the ATS-6 satellite. Each scan file contains 2 or 3 pictures, originally produced on 70mm film from digital tapes. William E. Shenk of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center was the principal investigator for data collected from launch until August 15, 1974.

Use Cases

• Analyze brightness temperatures from the gray scale on the right boundary of each image for historical thermal mapping.
• Extract metadata such as satellite ID, receiving station, and date from the title at the bottom of each picture for cataloging.
• Study the 10.5 to 12.5 micrometer spectral band imagery to assess early infrared sensor performance.
• Combine several hundred scans from a film roll to reconstruct a temporal sequence of hemispheric views from the 95W orbit.

Strengths

• Data spans the operational period from satellite launch until August 15, 1974.
• Images have an 11 km footprint resolution at the sub-satellite point.
• Each TIFF scan contains 2 or 3 pictures, providing multiple frames per file.

Limitations

• Original data is from 1974, making it temporally stale for contemporary climate analysis.
• Images were digitized from 70mm film, potentially introducing scan artifacts or quality loss.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and total number of film rolls are unknown.

Provenance

Source

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Principal Investigator William E. Shenk.

Collection Method

Commercial image-generation equipment produced imagery on 70mm film from digital tapes, later scanned to digital TIFF files.

Time Range

From ATS-6 launch until August 15, 1974.

Freshness

1974-08-15

Geography

Hemispheric view from a geosynchronous orbit parked at 95W.