# Nimbus 2

> U.S. meteorological satellite

**Wikidata**: [Q16320273](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16320273)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimbus_2)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/nimbus-2

## Summary
Nimbus 2 is a U.S. meteorological satellite launched on 15 May 1966 that served as both a weather observer and a platform for experimental space technologies. Part of NASA’s second-generation Nimbus program, it operated until a tape-storage failure in July 1966 and re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 17 January 1969.

## Key Facts
- Launch date: 15 May 1966 at 07:55:34 UTC from Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 2-East
- Launch mass: 413 kg (launch weight)
- Launch vehicle: Thor-Agena B (serial 456/6202)
- Operators: NASA and NOAA
- COSPAR/NSSDCA ID: 1966-040A
- Manufacturer: RCA Corporation
- Program: Nimbus program (followed Nimbus 1; followed by Nimbus B)
- Orbit: polar orbit
- Power: dual solar arrays
- Mission ended: tape recorder failure 26 July 1966; craft decayed 17 January 1969

## FAQs
### Q: What was Nimbus 2 designed to do?
A: Nimbus 2 carried meteorological instruments to image cloud cover and measure atmospheric temperature and humidity, while also flight-testing new spacecraft technologies for later operational weather satellites.

### Q: Why did Nimbus 2 stop working?
A: Its magnetic-tape data-storage system failed on 26 July 1966, cutting off the flow of recorded observations and effectively ending the scientific mission.

### Q: How long did Nimbus 2 stay in orbit?
A: From launch on 15 May 1966 until atmospheric re-entry on 17 January 1969—about 2 years and 8 months.

### Q: Was Nimbus 2 successful?
A: Partially; it returned useful weather imagery and proved several new technologies, but the early tape-recorder failure limited the overall data return.

## Why It Matters
Nimbus 2 bridged the gap between experimental and operational weather satellites, demonstrating that second-generation spacecraft could carry advanced meteorological sensors while testing innovations such as improved solar-array designs and stabilized platforms. Although its mission life was cut short by a recorder malfunction, the engineering lessons and partial dataset informed the later, longer-lived Nimbus 3 and the eventual transition to NOAA’s operational weather-satellite fleet. By validating key technologies in orbit, Nimbus 2 helped mature the U.S. capability to monitor global weather continuously—an essential step toward modern numerical weather prediction and climate studies.

## Notable For
- First Nimbus spacecraft to reach orbit after the loss of Nimbus B
- Dual-agency operations: jointly run by NASA and the newly formed NOAA
- Rapid failure: tape recorder failed only 72 days after launch
- Re-entry: decayed naturally in January 1969, well before the era of controlled de-orbits

## Body
### Mission Overview
Nimbus 2 was approved as part of the second-generation Nimbus series intended to give the United States an operational weather-observation capability from polar orbit. RCA Corporation built the 413 kg satellite around a stabilized, solar-powered bus capable of carrying both imaging and sounding instruments.

### Launch and Early Operations
A Thor-Agena B lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base on 15 May 1966, placing the spacecraft into a near-polar, Sun-synchronous orbit. Initial checkout showed all systems green, and imagery began flowing to ground stations within days.

### Payload and Technology
Instruments included an Advanced Vidicon Camera System for daylight cloud mapping and an Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer for temperature profiles. Dual articulated solar arrays—an innovation for 1966—provided up to 200 W of power, twice that of Nimbus 1.

### Failure and Legacy
On 26 July 1966 the onboard magnetic-tape recorder seized, eliminating the ability to store data for later downlink. Without tape, real-time transmissions continued only when the satellite passed over receiving stations, sharply reducing coverage. The spacecraft lingered in orbit until aerodynamic drag pulled it into the atmosphere on 17 January 1969. Despite the short life, Nimbus 2 confirmed the basic design that would be refined in Nimbus 3 and adopted operationally by NOAA’s Improved TIROS Operational System.

## Schema Markup
```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Satellite",
  "name": "Nimbus 2",
  "alternateName": "Nimbus C",
  "description": "U.S. meteorological satellite launched in 1966 to demonstrate weather-monitoring and experimental space technologies.",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6272367",
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimbus_2"
  ],
  "manufacturer": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "RCA Corporation"
  },
  "countryOfOrigin": {
    "@type": "Country",
    "name": "United States"
  },
  "launchDate": "1966-05-15",
  "weight": {
    "@type": "QuantitativeValue",
    "value": 413,
    "unitCode": "kg"
  }
}

## References

1. [Source](https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/nimbus-1.htm)
2. Jonathan's Space Report
3. [Source](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/earth/nimbus.html)