BackForwardInstrument:  SSCC 

Instrument details
Acronym SSCC
Full name Spin Scan Cloud Camera
Purpose Cloud observation
Short description Single VIS channel
Background Prototype of geostationary imagers
Scanning Technique E-W continuous scanning provided by the spinning satellite, N-S mechanical stepping
Resolution 4.5 km at s.s.p.
Coverage / Cycle Fraction of the disk between latitudes up to +/- 52.5° each 22 min
Mass Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency NASA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 1967 to 1978
Last update: 2017-03-27
Detailed characteristics
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Earth observation instrument
  • Passive optical radiometer or spectrometer
  • Moderate resolution optical imager
WIGOS Subcomponents No WIGOS subcomponents have been defined.
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Cloud cover
  • Wind (horizontal)
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Cloud cover*5 - marginalDaylight only.. Dense cloud only.VIS channel(s)
Fire fractional cover5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.. Daylight only.VIS channels
Snow cover5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS channel(s). Frequent sampling (GEO) improves probability of cloud-free views
Wind (horizontal)*5 - marginalCloud or water vapour tracers needed.. Daylight only.VIS channel(s). Frequent sampling (GEO) enables inference from cloud motion