Nimbus B

Nimbus B
Mission type	Weather satellite
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	NIMBS-B
Mission duration	Launch failure
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	RCA Astrospace
Launch mass	571.5 kilograms (1,260 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	May 18, 1968, 08:23:00 UTC
Rocket	Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D
Launch site	Vandenberg SLC-2E
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Epoch	Planned
	Nimbus program ← Nimbus 2 Nimbus 3 →

Nimbus B was a meteorological satellite launched as part of the Nimbus program. It was released on May 18, 1968 from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, California, by means of a Thor-Agena launch vehicle, together with the SECOR 10 satellite. Nimbus B never achieved orbit because a malfunction in the booster guidance system forced the destruction of the spacecraft and its payload during launch.

The Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator SNAP-19 RTG was salvaged from the water, refurbished and later flown on Nimbus 3.^[3]

Gallery

Nimbus B undergoes testing in an echo-free chamber.
The hunt was on for the Nimbus remains—divers, submarines and navy vessels all scoured the ocean in search of the craft.
A team of divers and search vessels scoured the Pacific Ocean in search of remains of Nimbus-B.
Intact SNAP-19 fuel capsule is shown among debris on Pacific Ocean floor, resulting from the aborted launch of a Nimbus B.

^ ^a ^b "Nimbus B". National Space Science Data Center Master Catalog. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Retrieved June 5, 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public ___domain.
^ McDowell, Jonathan C. "GCAT orbital launch log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
^ "Nimbus B". NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Retrieved June 5, 2018.

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