Nimbus B

Nimbus B was a meteorological satellite launched as part of the Nimbus program. It was released on May 18, 1968 from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, California, by means of a Thor-Agena launch vehicle, together with the SECOR 10 satellite. Nimbus B never achieved orbit because a malfunction in the booster guidance system forced the destruction of the spacecraft and its payload during launch.

Nimbus B

Mission type	Weather satellite
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	NIMBS-B
Mission duration	Launch failure
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	RCA Astrospace
Launch mass	571.5 kilograms (1,260 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date	May 18, 1968, 08:23:00 (1968-05-18UTC08:23Z) UTC[2]
Rocket	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D
Launch site	Vandenberg SLC-2E
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Epoch	Planned[1]
Nimbus program ← Nimbus 2 Nimbus 3 →

The Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator SNAP-19 RTG was salvaged from the water, refurbished and later flown on Nimbus 3.^[3]

Gallery

• 
  Nimbus B undergoes testing in an echo-free chamber.
• 
  The hunt was on for the Nimbus remains—divers, submarines and navy vessels all scoured the ocean in search of the craft.
• 
  A team of divers and search vessels scoured the Pacific Ocean in search of remains of Nimbus-B.
• 
  Intact SNAP-19 fuel capsule is shown among debris on Pacific Ocean floor, resulting from the aborted launch of a Nimbus B.

Instruments

• High Data Rate Storage System (DHRSS)
• High and Medium-Resolution Infrared Radiometers (HRIR/MRIR)
• Image Dissector Camera System (IDCS)
• Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer (IRIS)
• Monitor of Ultraviolet Solar Energy (MUSE)
• Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (SNAP-19)
• Real-time transmission System (RTTS)
• Satellite Infrared Spectrometer (SIRS)

See also

• Spaceflight portal

• Television Infrared Observation Satellite