1. ATS-C: What could have been
By Schmit and Schmit
September 2009

2. Summary of phone call on May 5, 1966. Noted planned meeting with Dr
Summary of phone call on May 5, Noted planned meeting with Dr. Suomi. Recorded by J. L. Schmit (then of Honeywell Corp. Research Center).

3. Hand-written notes on the May 6, 1966
Hand-written notes on the May 6, Note that a single detector was planned. Recorded by J. L. Schmit (then of Honeywell Research Center).

4. Hand-written notes on the May 6, 1966. Note the goal of changing ATS-C
Hand-written notes on the May 6, Note the goal of changing ATS-C. Recorded by J. L. Schmit (then of Honeywell Research Center).

5. Hand-written figures on the May 6, 1966, shows the detector location and satellite location. Recorded by J. L. Schmit (then of Honeywell Research Center).

6. Honeywell memo from regarding the May 6, 1966 meeting
Honeywell memo from regarding the May 6, 1966 meeting. Note the idea of an infrared detector (Hg Cd Te) for ATS.

7. Honeywell memo (May 6, 1966 meeting)
Honeywell memo (May 6, 1966 meeting). Note the idea of a “Mid-western space contractors interested in exploiting the meteorological technology” group.

8. Honeywell memo (May 6, 1966 meeting). Page 2
Honeywell memo (May 6, 1966 meeting). Page 2. Note the “freeze” for the ATS design was only a “stringent” 15 months away.

9. Honeywell memo (May 6, 1966 meeting). Page 3. Dr
Honeywell memo (May 6, 1966 meeting). Page 3. Dr. Suomi suggests “allow for improvements through evolution”.

10. Packet to Dr. Suomi from J. L. Schmit (May 5, 1966). Page 1.

11. Packet to Dr. Suomi from J. L. Schmit (May 5, 1966). Page 2.

12. Packet to Dr. Suomi from J. L. Schmit (May 5, 1966). Page 3.

13. Honeywell memo (June 1, 1966 meeting). Page 1. Dr
Honeywell memo (June 1, 1966 meeting). Page 1. Dr. Suomi is sure that he can persuade NASA that this is the only “sensible” approach. Dr. Suomi would call Saturday morning at 9:30 am with details.

14. Honeywell memo (June 3, 1966 meeting). Page 1. Dr
Honeywell memo (June 3, 1966 meeting). Page 1. Dr. Suomi suggests “excellent” chances for a go-ahead from NASA. To “circumvent red-tape”, he would provide funds.

15. Honeywell memo (June 8, 1966 meeting). $30K “pre-payment”.

16. Honeywell memo (June 9, 1966 meeting)
Honeywell memo (June 9, 1966 meeting). Announcing a meeting will be in Science Hall (in Madison, WI) on June 10 to discuss the “feasibility model work”.

17. Honeywell memo (June 14, 1966 meeting)
Honeywell memo (June 14, 1966 meeting). Derive the “variation which has the greatest probably chance of succeeding in the ATS-C application”. Note $200 for “computer time”.

18. Honeywell memo (June 14, 1966 meeting). Page 2.

19. Honeywell memo (June 30, 1966 meeting). Dr
Honeywell memo (June 30, 1966 meeting). Dr. Suomi has not issued his promised purchase order because a) he has not had time, and b)…”.

20. Honeywell memo (July 8, 1966 telecon)
Honeywell memo (July 8, 1966 telecon). The “IR Spin Scan Camera cannot be “accommodated” on the ATS satellite….requires a “retro-fit”.

21. Honeywell memo (December 13, 1966)
Honeywell memo (December 13, 1966). Describes a meeting at the University of Wisconsin Space Science and Engineering Center, 601 East Main St. Madison, WI. “Dr. Suomi very much the man of the hour.” Funding was “a sure thing”.

22. Honeywell memo (December 13, 1966). Page 2.

23. The Milwaukee Journal. Friday, December 9, 1996: “Two contracts were approved from the Goddard space flight center of Greenbelt, Md, for work by the UW space science and engineering center in Madison. One is for $500,000 will cover design construction and delivery of a multicolor spin scan camera experiment.”

24. “Figure 2. Dr. Suomi’s “scratches” of his modified ATS prototype satellite”.

25. ATS in 1966
Unique insight to the early ideas of IR data in geostationary orbit by Dr. Suomi.
This was over eight years before SMS-1 did have IR data.