Science: The Second Tiros

Among the satellites so far shot into orbit, perhaps the most useful to man was Tiros I, the "weather eye," whose pictures of the earth's cloud pattern gave a valuable overall view of global weather. Last week the U.S. launched Tiros II, to improve on the work of its predecessor. The 280-lb., drum-shaped satellite, spangled with 9,260 solar cells, went into a nearly circular orbit about 400 miles above the earth. All except one of its instruments worked fine; only the wide-angle TV camera for photographing large-scale cloud cover was out of kilter.

Tiros II has two cameras. Both are water-glass size,...

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