The Complete Book of Spaceflight: From Apollo 1 to Zero Gravity

326 POES (Polar Operational Environmental Satellite)
on future writings on this subject. His description of
Earth as seen from space is surprisingly accurate, and his
sealed gondola-ship is reminiscent of stratospheric balloons
of the 1930s. It is no coincidence that one of his
university teachers was Joseph Tucker.
POES (Polar Operational Environmental Satellite)
NOAA(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
satellites in polar orbits that collect global data on a
daily basis for a variety of land, ocean, and atmospheric
applications. Two satellites, a morning and an afternoon
satellite, make up the POES constellation and provide
global coverage four times daily. Each carries seven scientific
instruments and two for search and rescue. Their
measurements are used for weather analysis and forecasting,
climate research and prediction, global sea surface
temperature measurements, atmospheric soundings of
temperature and humidity, ocean dynamics research, volcanic
eruption monitoring, forest fire detection, global
vegetation analysis, and many other applications. POES
and the Department of Defense’s DMSP(Defense Meteorological
Satellite Program) are currently being merged
to form the NPOESS program, which will be managed
by an Integrated Program Office headed by NOAA.
pogo effect
Unstable, longitudinal (up and down) oscillations induced
in a launch vehicle, mainly due to fuel sloshing and
engine vibration.
Pogue, William R. (1930–)
An American astronaut who flew aboard Skylab and
served on the support crews for the Apollo 7, 11, and 14
missions. His Air Force military career included a combat
tour during the Korean conflict, two years as an aerobatic
pilot with the Air Force’s precision flying team, the
Thunderbirds, and an exchange assignment with the
Royal Air Force as a test pilot. In addition, he served as an
assistant professor of mathematics at the U.S. Air Force
Academy in Colorado Springs. In April 1966, Pogue was
selected in the fifth group of NASA astronauts. Together
with Gerald Carrand Edward Gibson, he flew on Skylab
4, the third and final manned visit to the orbiting laboratory,
setting, along with Carr, a new record for the longest
spacewalk of seven hours. In 1977, Pogue left NASA to
pursue a new career as consultant to aerospace and energy
companies. He worked with the Boeing Company in support
of the Space Station Freedom Project and now
works with them on the International Space Station Project,
specializing in assembly extravehicular activity.
Polar
An Earth-observing satellite that, together with its sister
spacecraft Wind, constitutes NASA’s contribution to the
International Solar Terrestrial Program (ISTP), an international
effort to quantify the effects of solar energy on
Earth’s magnetic field. Polar is designed to measure the
entry, energization, and transport of plasma into the
magnetosphere. Data from Polar are correlated with data
from ground-based scientific observatories and the other
spacecraft in the ISTP program—Wind, Geotail, and
SOHO (the first Cluster spacecraft would also have participated,
but they were destroyed during launch)—to better
understand the physical effects of solar activity on
interplanetary space and Earth’s space environment.
Launch
Date: February 24, 1996
Vehicle: Delta 7925
Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base
Mass: 1,300 kg
Orbit: 5,554 × 50,423 km × 86.3°
Polar BEAR (Polar Beacon Experiment and
Auroral Research)
An American military satellite designed to study communications
interference caused by solar flares and
increased auroral activity. The data from the mission
complement data gathered by its predecessor, HILAT.
The core vehicle was a Transit navigational satellite
retrieved from the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space
Museum, where it had been on display for eight years.
Polar BEAR’s Auroral Imaging Remote Sensor imaged
the aurora borealis, and its Beacon Experiment monitored
ionospheric propagation over the poles.
Launch
Date: November 14, 1986
Vehicle: Scout G
Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base
Orbit: 955 × 1,013 km × 89.6°
Size: 1.3 × 0.4 m
Mass: 125 kg
polar orbit
An orbit with an inclination of 90°, or very close to it. A
spacecraft following such an orbit has access to virtually
every point on Earth’s (or some other planet’s) surface,
since the planet effectively rotates beneath it. This capability
is especially useful for mapping or surveillance missions.
An orbit at another inclination covers a smaller
portion of the Earth, omitting areas around the poles.
Placing a satellite into terrestrial polar orbit demands
more energy and therefore more propellant than does
achieving a direct orbit of low inclination. In the latter
case, the launch normally takes place near the equator,