This instrumentation consisted of two vidicon cameras for daytime cloud cover pictures, a high-resolution scanning infrared radiometer for nighttime and daytime imaging of the Earth and clouds, and an array of narrow-angle and wide-angle radiometers covering the 0.3 to 3-μm, 8 to 12-μm, and 3 to 3-μm channels for measuring the intensity of radiation reflected from the clouds and oceans, the surface temperatures of the Earth and cloud tops, and the total flux of thermal energy from the Earth-atmosphere system into space, respectively. The image formed by each vidicon tube either was transmitted directly to the ground if the satellite was in radio contact with either of the two ground stations in
Moscow or
Novosibirsk or was recorded on magnetic tape for later transmission if the satellite was beyond the zone of radio communication. The TV images received by these ground stations were processed and transmitted to the Hydrometeorological Center in Moscow, where they were analyzed and used in various forecast and analysis products. The pictures were archived at the Hydrometeorological Center. The Kosmos 144 cameras, although having 2.5 times the resolution of those carried on the
ESSA satellites, could not provide continuous overlapping global coverage as do the
ESSA cameras owing to the lower orbit of the Kosmos 144 satellite ( compared to ). Thus, to close the gaps in coverage, at least two satellites were required in the weather satellite system. In addition, cloud cover mosaics were produced from 10 or more individual cloud cover pictures at the Hydrometeorological Center to provide a more comprehensive view of global weather systems. The radiation was reflected from the scanning mirror through a stationary modulating disk and filter window onto a parabolic mirror that focused the parallel beam through a movable modulating disk onto a thermistor
bolometer. The stationary and movable modulating disks provided the channel switching, sending first the Earth-atmosphere radiation and then the space radiation to the parabolic mirror and finally to the bolometer. The bolometer converted the radiant flux into variable electric voltages (0 to 6 V) whose frequency was equal to the modulator frequency and whose magnitudes were proportional to the differences in the radiant flux intensities between Earth and space developed at the bolometer output. During the movement of the scanning mirror through a ± 40° sector, line scanning (40 lines/min) of the target area was accomplished in a plane normal to the orbital plane using a forward and back path, while scanning along the flight path was provided by the relative motion of the satellite with respect to the Earth. In each scan, with the indicated viewing and scanning angles from the satellite's orbital altitude, the radiometer recorded the mean radiation intensities from a band about wide with a resolution of about at nadir to about to at the edges. The radiometer was capable of measuring radiation temperatures within 2 or 3° for temperatures above 273 K and within 7 to 8° for temperatures below 273 K. The instrumentation consisted of four radiometers: a pair of scanning, narrow-angle, two-channel
radiometers and a pair of nonscanning, wide-angle, two-channel radiometers. The narrow-angle (4 by 5° field of view (FOV)) radiometers measured radiation in all three spectral bands, while the wide-angle (136 to 140° FOV) radiometers operated only in the 0.3 to 3 and 3 to 30 μm bands. In the narrow-angle radiometer, the 0.3 to 3 μm band was measured in one channel and the 8 to 12 and 3 to 30 μm bands were combined in the second channel. In the second channel, the two bands were separated by the exchange of corresponding filters as the radiometer scanned in alternate directions. The Earth radiation entered the narrow-angle radiometer through a cylindrical fairing (KRS-5 crystal) and fell onto a conical scanning mirror. The radiation was reflected from the mirror through a three-lobed rotating mirror chopper that modulated the radiation flux at a frequency of 80 Hz. The chopper alternately reflected Earth radiation and space radiation, which entered through a separate KRS-5 crystal window, onto one of three openings in a color filter wheel – one filter for each spectral band. The particular spectral band that was passed through then fell on an off-axis parabolic mirror that focused the radiation flux onto a bolometric receiver. Periodic calibration was made when the scanning mirror moved to a 90° angle from nadir with simultaneous turning on and viewing of a
silicon standard lamp. The 0.3 to 3 μm channel did not use the two-beam system or filter switching. The output from the modulated flow of radiation on the bolometer was amplified, rectified, filtered, and fed into the radio-telemetry system over eight channels. The wide-angle radiometers had identical optical systems for both channels. The Earth radiation entered the radiometer through a hemispherical shell composed of quartz or KRS-5 crystal with a coating that determined the passband. The radiation was then modulated with a frequency of 64 Hz and fell on a bolometric receiver. As in the narrow-angle radiometers, the bolometer output was processed and fed into the radio-telemetry system. The wide-angle radiometer was standardised simultaneously with the narrow-angle radiometer by the input of a standard 64 Hz calibrating frequency into the amplification circuit. The relative
RMS measuring error for both types of radiometers was about 0.5%. To provide a backup capability, one wide-angle and one narrow-angle radiometer were held in reserve and could have been activated on command from the ground. The orientation of the Kosmos 144 satellite insured that the primary optical axes of the radiometers were oriented vertically downward toward the survey of the Earth's surface by both radiometers was carried out by the motion of the satellite relative to the Earth. In addition, the narrow-angle radiometer scanned 66° to either side of nadir in a plane normal to the orbital plane by rocking the scanning mirror about the optical axis. The radiometers covered a strip about wide on the Earth's surface and had a ground resolution of at nadir. The data were reduced at the ground stations and were transmitted in binary form to the Hydrometeorological Center in Moscow, where they were recorded in digital form on magnetic tape and were used to produce various analysis products such an Earth-atmosphere albedo charts and radiation temperature maps. The data were archived at the Hydrometeorological Center. Some of these charts were transmitted in graphical form to various foreign meteorological centers, including the National Environmental Satellite Service (NESS), Suitland, Maryland. These actinometric charts were received at NESS via the "cold line" facsimile link with Moscow from early March 1967 to late October 1967 and late February 1968 to mid-March 1968, when, it is believed that experiment operations terminated. The charts were microfilmed and archived at the National Climatic Center (NCC), Asheville, North Carolina. ==Mission==