TIROS7L1FMRT: Historical Satellite Radiometer Data from 1963-1965

TIROS-7 satellite data provides global coverage of radiance measurements from a five-channel scanning radiometer. The Level 1 Final Meteorological Radiation Data (FMRT) contains radiances expressed as equivalent blackbody temperature for infrared channels and effective radiant emittance for visible channels, with a 55 km footprint at nadir. Data collection began after the satellite's launch on June 19, 1963, and continued for two years, archived in its original IBM 36-bit proprietary format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing early atmospheric thermal radiation based on Channel 4 (8.0 to 30 microns) measurements.
• Studying historical reflected solar radiation patterns using Channel 3 (0.2 to 6.0 microns) data.
• Tracking carbon dioxide absorption signatures from Channel 1 (14.8 to 15.5 microns) readings.
• Comparing atmospheric window region data from Channel 2 (8.0 to 12.0 microns) with modern observations.
• Calibrating historical TV-system response data from Channel 5 (0.55 to 0.75 microns).

Strengths

• Provides a continuous two-year record of early satellite Earth observations from 1963-1965.
• Contains specific, calibrated measurements across five distinct spectral channels with documented wavelength ranges.
• Data is preserved in its original form, offering authenticity for historical research.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing: column names, row counts, and dataset size are unknown across all platforms.
• Data is stored in an obsolete IBM 36-bit proprietary binary format (TAP file), requiring specialized tools for access and interpretation.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist (1965 vs. 2026), indicating potential metadata inconsistency.

Provenance

Source

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Principal Investigator Joseph D. Barksdale.

Collection Method

Data originally written on IBM 7094 machines and recovered from Final Meteorological Radiation Tapes (FMRT).

Time Range

1963-06 to 1965-06

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:32:11.859983

Geography

Global, with ground traces forming elliptical, parabolic, or hyperbolic patterns due to instrument rotation.