Meteor (satellite)
[1] The Meteor satellites[clarification needed] were designed to monitor atmospheric and sea-surface temperatures, humidity, radiation, sea ice conditions, snow-cover, and clouds.
[6] It was a meteorological satellite that provided global observations of the earth's weather systems, cloud cover, ice and snow fields, vertical profiles of temperature and moisture, and reflected and emitted radiation from the dayside and nightside of the earth-atmosphere system for operational use by the Soviet Hydrometeorological Service.
It carried an East German-designed experimental infrared Fourier spectrometers for on-orbit testing of the new instrument for weather observation.
In addition to its regular payload, Meteor-2-21 carried a unique Fizeau Retro Reflector Array (RRA) for Satellite Laser Ranging applications.
[10] It was an Earth Science/Weather satellite that gathered meteorological information and data on penetrating radiation fluxes in circumterrestrial space.
[10] It had a weight of 2,750 kg, and contained the usual suite of communication and orbit control equipment powered by large solar arrays.
[18] Meteor 2-8 launched on 25 March 1982 by the USSR out of Plesetsk on a Tsyklon-3[10] It had a weight of 1,500 kg, and It carried scientific and meteorological instruments, and service systems.
The central cube is made of fused silica and has a two-lobe Far Field Diffraction Pattern (FFDP) providing nearly equal intensities for compensated and uncompensated velocity aberration.
One of the end reflectors is made of fused silica with an index of refraction of 1.46 and should provide partial compensation of the velocity aberration.
The other end reflector is made of fused glass with an index of refraction of 1.62 and should provide a perfect compensation of the velocity aberration.
Resur-1, another Russian satellite launched in 1994, has 2 corner cubes reflectors with near diffraction-limited FFDPs, which were specifically designed for the continuation of this experiment.
Internal document of Russian space agency show that it is originally only used to describe Meteor 1-31 at the time, but later extend to all experimental satellites.
[26] These satellites provide weather information including data on clouds, ice and snow cover, atmospheric radiation and humidity.
The Meteor-3 has the same payload as the Meteor-2 but also includes an advanced scanning radiometer with better spectral and spatial resolution and a spectrometer for determining total ozone content.
The satellite carried the second Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) aloft as the first and the last American-built instrument to fly on a Soviet spacecraft.
Launched from the Plesetsk, Russia, facility near the White Sea, on 15 August 1991, Meteor-3 TOMS had a unique orbit that presents special problems for processing data.
ILRS Mission Support Status: Satellite laser ranging and PRARE data was used for precision orbit determination and intercomparison of the two techniques.
Roscosmos later confirmed that the satellite had suffered a decompression of its thermal control system following what is presumed to be a micrometeoroid impact.
Following the incident, the spacecraft was automatically switched into a low-power mode and ground operators worked to restore the satellite's orbit and orientation.
