VISSRSMS1IMIR: SMS-1 Satellite Infrared Imagery on Film

VISSRSMS1IMIR contains Visible Infrared Spin-Scan Radiometer (VISSR) infrared imagery from the first Synchronous Meteorological Satellite (SMS-1). The data, originally recorded on 70mm film and later scanned to TIFF files, captures thermal emissions in the 10.5 to 12.5 micrometer band for meteorological observation. Each image includes metadata titles and a 33-level gray scale representing brightness temperatures, with a maximum spatial resolution of 3.7 km per pixel.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical cloud cover and storm systems based on the infrared brightness temperature data.
• Calibrating modern satellite sensors by comparing them with early geostationary imagery from the described orbital positions.
• Training image segmentation models to automatically extract the title and gray scale annotations from the scanned film frames.
• Studying the evolution of satellite meteorology techniques using data from the first operational geostationary weather satellite.

Strengths

• Provides foundational early geostationary satellite imagery with a specific spatial resolution of 3.7 km per pixel.
• Includes calibrated brightness temperature data via a 33-level gray scale embedded in each image.
• Contains detailed temporal and positional metadata in the image title, including start time and sensor coordinates.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low: row counts, file sizes, and specific column names are unknown across all sources.
• There is a significant conflict in data freshness: one source lists a last update in 2026, while another indicates the data product originated in 1979.
• The data has undergone multiple analog and digital conversions (digital tape to 70mm film to scanned TIFF), which may introduce artifacts.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS) and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Collection Method

Originally produced from digital tapes onto 70mm film using commercial image-generation equipment, later scanned to digital TIFF files.

Time Range

Imagery collection began after the SMS-1 satellite launch on June 7, 1974.

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:10:51.971748

Geography

Hemispheric views from geostationary orbit at longitudes 45°W (initial), 75°W (operational), and 105°W (standby).