The satellite's electrical power was supplied by about 10,000 1x2 cm solar cells on the cover and 21 nickel-cadmium batteries.

Two redundant wide-angle APT (Automatic Picture Transmission) cameras, mounted on opposite sides and perpendicular to the spin axis, captured images.

This subsystem was a camera-transmitter setup, designed to transmit real-time daylight images of cloud cover to ground stations.

[1] ESSA 6 was launched on November 10, 1967, at 18:00 UTC, atop a Delta rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA.

The APT camera system was successful, operating nearly continuously until November 4, 1969 when the spacecraft was deactivated.