Originally part of a classified system of USAF weather satellites, the spacecraft's missions were not revealed until March 1973. The cylindrically shaped spacecraft carried both visual and infrared sensors. The satellite was one of the experimental models for a series of USAF weather satellites designed to provide the Air Force Global Weather Central and other users with high-resolution cloud cover imagery. The satellite was spin-stabilized and operated at a nominal altitude of 450 nautical miles in a sun-synchronous polar orbit.