The Synchronous Meteorological Satellite (SMS) program, was a program where NASA developed two weather satellites; which were placed into geosynchronous orbit.
SMS-1 was launched May 17, 1974 and SMS-2 was launched February 6, 1975.[1] [2] Both satellites were carried to orbit by Delta 2914 rockets.[3] The program was initiated after the successes achieved by the Applications Technology Satellite (ATS) research satellites, which demonstrated the feasibility of using satellites in geosynchronous orbit for meteorology. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) program, which now supports weather forecasting, severe storm tracking, and meteorology research in the United States, followed immediately after the SMS program; the GOES 1 satellite was initially designated SMS-C.[4] SMS-1 and SMS-2; and GOES-1, GOES-2, and GOES-3; were essentially identical.[5]
| Designation | Launch Date/Time (UTC) | Rocket | Launch Site | Longitude | First Image | Status | Retirement | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch | Operational | ||||||||
SMS series satellites | |||||||||
| May 17, 1974 | |||||||||
| February 6, 1975 | |||||||||
SMS-derived satellites | |||||||||
| October 16, 1975, 22:40 | October 25, 1975 | Retired | March 7, 1985[6] | ||||||
| June 16, 1977, 10:51 | 60°W | Retired | 1993[7] | Reactivated as comsat in 1995, finally deactivated in May 2001 | |||||
| June 16, 1978, 10:49 | Retired | 1993[8] | Reactivated as comsat in 1995, was decommissioned 29 June 2016 | ||||||