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Eole 1 was the second French experimental meteorological satellite and the first launched by NASA under a cooperative agreement with the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). It was designed to function primarily as a communications satellite to acquire and relay telemetered data on altitude, pressure, temperature, moisture, and upper atmospheric wind velocities from instrumented, Earth-circling, constant-density meteorological balloons. The Eole 1 satellite was also known as FR-2 and CAS-1. 

Data

1 Dataset
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Type

Earth Observation Satellites

Objective

Meteorological data

Launch

Aug 16, 1971

Data Center

GES DISC

The octagonally shaped satellite measured 0.71 m across and 0.58 m long. Data were stored onboard the spacecraft and unloaded on command when the spacecraft was within range of a ground station. The onboard telemetry consisted of:  

  • a 136.350-MHz downlink transmitter for relaying balloon telemetry to ground stations and also to serve as a tracking beacon
  • a 148.25-MHz receiver for receiving spacecraft commands and telemetry programs for balloon operations
  • a spacecraft-to-balloon transmitter (464.84 MHz) and receiver (401.7196 MHz). 

The satellite operation was successful and the last balloon ceased transmitting in January 1973. The spacecraft was subsequently used to track and receive data from ocean buoys, icebergs, and ships.

Instruments Aboard Eole 1

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