Synchronous Meteorological Satellite

For the Synchronous Meteorological Satellite (SMS) program, NASA developed two weather satellites which were placed into geosynchronous orbit. SMS-1 was launched May 17, 1974 a and SMS-2 was launched February 6, 1975. Both satellites were carried to orbit by Delta 2914 rockets. The program was initiated after the successes achieved by the Applications Technology Satellite research satellites, which demonstrated the feasibility of using satellites in geosynchronous orbit for meteorology. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 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. SMS-1 and -2, and GOES-1, -2, and -3 were essentially identical.