Weather Satellites, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska

Description

TMENT OF DEPARTMENT FILM RELEASE OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (PUBLIC AFFAIRS) UNITED STATES of Australia WASHINGTON, D.C. 0 20301 PLEASE NOTE DATE IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 7, 1977 OXford 7-6161 Release # 25-77 Footage: 76' 16mm Color Master Room 2E 773 With Magnetic Tape 100678 Time: 2:06 027XXX 100581 019XXX WEATHER SATELLITES 100434 047XXX (Official U.S. Air Force Film Released by Department of Defense) 105899 DATE/PLACE: This footage was taken in the Spring of 1976 at Offutt AFB, Nebrask6126484 Loring AFB, Maine; and Fairchild AFB, Washington. 101887 101042 SCOPE: This coverage is of weather satellites and how the data they send back to earth is used to forecast daily weather conditions. 100890 107519 BACKGROUND: Not too many years ago, weather forecasting was 8 combination of watching the clouds, the actions of birds and animals, and an educated guess from 107459 our aches and pains. However, in the last few years, we have added a. potent ally in our quest to foresee the coming weather. Weather satellites, both military and 100947 civilian, circle the globe daily. They send data back to ground stations where it/03549 is interpreted and the information added to that of local observers. From this combination come the daily weather forecasts. One such set of satellites is operated by the Air Force as a part of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. Two satellites of this system are in sun synchronous orbit circling the poles. They take cloud cover photos of the entire earth's surface and send their information back to two receiver sites in the northern United States one at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, and the other at Loring Air Force Base, Maine. In addition to these permanent receivers, mobile terminals for receiving the data are located in key spots around the world. All of the information from these satellites, as well as ground and high-altitude balloon observations, is fed into the Air Force's Global Weather Central at Offutt Air Force Base, outside Omaha, Nebraska. There it is analyzed by computers and trained forecasters, and fed back to bases around the world through high-speed data circuits. Terminals are installed aboard Navy aircraft carriers to receive the satellite trans- missions for their use in military maneuvers. Military commanders need this information to do their job, but the information doesn't p there. This weather information gathered by the Air Force has been made available the National Weather Service, where it can become part of their forecasts for the rest of the nation. - MORE -

Collection

Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer

Series

Filmed News Releases