Weather satellites

The program opens with a film of the firing of a rocket and its subsequent high altitude photos charting the structure of a storm. Lynn Poole shows a model of an early twentieth century satellite and notes its increasing importance in meteorology. Dr. George Benton, Johns Hopkins University professor of meteorology, displays a chart of satellites' distance above the earth's atmosphere and another chart of the electromagnetic spectrum. Dr. Sigmund Fritz, a meteorologist with the U.S. Weather Bureau, lists the advantages of a satellite in weather forecasting, including its high vantage point, rapid mobility, and broad coverage over the globe. Dr. William Kellogg, a meteorologist with the Rand Corp., describes the typical orbits of satellites launched from Cape Canaveral, explaining why an elliptical orbit is generally preferable, but a circular one is best for a weather satellite. He also says that the higher the satellite's elevation, the longer it will take to circle the earth but the longer the satellite's lifespan as well. Dr. Fritz stresses the technological problems that need to be overcome before satellites can become more useful tools: stabilization, to make it constantly look down; transmission, interpretation, and distribution of collected data; and measurement of cloud reflectivity. The satellites' benefits to meteorology will include wide range cloud detection, measurement of the heat balances that drive the storms, and measurement of radiation balance over land and water by latitude. Visuals include a time lapse film of gathering thunderclouds from the ground and 22 miles up, a photo of cloud cover over the entire eastern seaboard from 86 miles up, and an artistic rendition of how the earth might look from 4,000 miles up, by Harry Wexler of the U.S. Weather Bureau.