TIROS, or Television Infrared Observation Satellite, is a series of early weather satellites launched by NASA, beginning with TIROS-1 in 1960. TIROS was the first satellite that was capable of remote sensing of the Earth. This initial remote-sensing effort was significant because it enabled Earth scientists to view our planet from a new perspective: space. The program was extremely successful in proving the usefulness of satellite weather observation and in its time, perhaps considered to be too successful; causing people to question the need for many of the military spy apparatus that were in development or use at the time. TIROS demonstrated at that time that "the key to genius is often simplicity".
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