[4] Its name was derived from that of its oversight agency, the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA).

ESSA-9 was launched on a three-stage Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

[5] The solar cells recharged the 63 nickel–cadmium batteries during the time the spacecraft was in sunlight.

[6] ESSA-9 carried two sets of two main instruments, the Advanced Vidicon Camera System (AVCS) and the Flat Plate Radiometer (FPR).

The cameras took single images of a particular region of the Earth's surface once a day.