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Vanguard 2 (model pictured), the first weather satellite, was launched to measure cloud cover distribution.
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Vanguard 2
US Navy satellite launched in 1959
Vanguard 2 is an Earth-orbiting satellite launched 17 February 1959 at 15:55:02 GMT, aboard a Vanguard SLV-4 rocket as part of the United States Navy's Project Vanguard. The satellite was designed to measure cloud cover distribution over the daylight portion of its orbit, for a…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Weather satellite
Type of satellite designed to record the state of the Earth's atmosphere
A weather satellite or meteorological satellite is a type of Earth observation satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites are mainly of two types: polar orbiting or geostationary.Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Cloud cover
Fraction of the sky obscured by clouds when observed from a particular location
Cloud cover refers to the fraction of the sky obscured by clouds on average when observed from a particular location. Okta is the usual unit for measurement of the cloud cover. The cloud cover is correlated to the sunshine duration as the least cloudy locales are the sunniest…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)