WORLD WEATHER FORECAST PLAN

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29330, 8 October 1960, Page 10

WORLD WEATHER FORECAST PLAN

(From a Reuter Correspondent)

PHILADELPHIA. An American space engineer has proposed the establishment of a single weather station to provide daily meteorological forecasts for the whole world with the aid of space satellites. Mr, Robert Haviland, of the General Electric Company’s missile and space-vehicle,department here, Said that it would not be necessary to develop any new satellites to act as the weather eyes for a master weather centre. Such a satellite as the American Tiros, which has already sent back pictures of cloud formations while in orbit round the earth. would, he believes, do nicely. Two such satellites could be launched into space on global orbits in longitudinal paths which would take them over the North Pole and the South Pole. The best orbits would be perpendicular to each other and at a distance of between 2000 and 4000 miles from earth. Thus, as the earth spins on its axis, tl.. satellites would cover every spot on it and take pictures with instruments aboard. These pictures would be transmitted by means of television to a master weather station on the ground. “This station might be located almost anywhere,” Mr Haviland said. “But consideration of the amount of data to be stored in the satellites indicates that it would be desirable to locate the centre in the polar regions, where read-out could be secured on every passage. The centre would maintain master files and the comparing equipment, and would make the predictions.”

The centre would be able to transmit its findings to all corners of the world by ordinary radio, or by radio waves bounced off a satellite such as the Echo I balloon now in orbit, he added. Mr de Haviland said that entire

storm systems could be spotted by the two satellites, and various meteorological patterns detected. Experts at the centre would analyse the patterns, compare them with similar patterns detected in the past, and flash the results to the spots in the world likely to be affected. All that would be needed to get such a master station going, the American engineer added, would be a couple of satellites—and about 10,000.000 dollars (about £3,430,000 sterling) a year.