Mosaic of Clouds from ESSA-5 satellite

This digital mosaic of cloud pictures was taken by the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) 5 satellite on September 14, 1967. It shows more than a dozen storm areas, including hurricanes Beulah, Dora, Chloe, Monica, and Nannette. The picture signals, received in analog form from the satellite, were sampled at short time intervals, and numbers were assigned according to the brightness indicated by the basic signal. The computer then located each digital value and precise map location. The computer tape containing this information was then displayed on a television-like tube (kinescope) and photographed. The result, a mosaic. The first ESSA satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on February 3, 1966. ESSA-5 was launched April 20, 1967 and, after 738 days of operation on orbit, was deactivated on February 20, 1970.