A new NOAA polar-orbiting environmental satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on February 6th and is now circling the globe every 102 minutes, taking images and measurements to support NOAA’s efforts to forecast and monitor the environment. NOAA-19 joins NOAA-18 and one European environmental satellite already in polar orbit.

NOAA-19 carries seven scientific instruments, including two search and rescue instruments and a data recording system. Unique with this satellite is a new data collection system that will relay meteorological, oceanographic data — even track migration patterns of wildlife — to help researchers improve their study of Earth’s environment. Data from NOAA-19 will support several NOAA programs, including:

• Weather analysis and forecasting
• Climate research and prediction
• Global sea surface temperature measurements
• Atmospheric soundings of temperature and humidity
• Ocean dynamics research
• Volcanic eruption monitoring
• Forest fire detection
• Global vegetation analysis
• Search and rescue operations

NOAA operates two types of satellite systems for the United States —– geostationary and polar-orbiting. Geostationary satellites constantly monitor the Western Hemisphere from around 22,240 miles above the Earth, and polar-orbiting satellites circle the Earth providing global information from approximately 540 miles above the Earth. The worldwide demand for satellite data is growing so NOAA is working closely with the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites to ensure seamless satellite coverage. Under an agreement between the organizations, NOAA’s two operational polar-orbiting satellites are carrying a EUMETSAT instrument. In return, through 2020, EUMETSAT is carrying key NOAA instruments on board its European-built MetOp satellites.

(Photo: launch of NOAA's new polar-orbiting satellite, courtesy NOAA/NASA)