Polar-Orbiting NOAA-N To Launch May 11

EARTH OBSERVATION

At Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the first stage of the Boeing Delta II rocket rests on the pad. It will be mated with the second stage. The Delta II will launch the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA-N) spacecraft. Image credit: NASA/VAFB.

Vandenberg AFB CA (SPX) May 03, 2005
The latest polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), called NOAA-N, is set to be launched on May 11, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, between 3:22:01 to 3:32:01 a.m. PDT.

NOAA-N is the latest satellite in the advanced TIROS-N (ATN) series.

The spacecraft will continue to provide a polar-orbiting platform to support

(1) environmental monitoring instruments for imaging and measuring the Earth's atmosphere, its surface, and cloud cover, including Earth radiation, atmospheric ozone, aerosol distribution, sea surface temperature, and vertical temperature and water profiles in the troposphere and stratosphere;

(2) measurement of proton and electron flux at orbit altitude;

(3) data collection from remote platforms; and

(4) the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking (SARSAT) system.

Additionally, NOAA-N is the fourth in the series of support dedicated microwave instruments for the generation of temperature, moisture, surface, and hydrological products in cloudy regions where visible and infrared (IR) instruments have decreased capability.

The satellite will be launched from the Western Range at Vandenberg AFB by a two-stage Boeing Delta II 7320-10 space launch vehicle.

NOAA-N is the latest satellite in the Advanced Television Infrared Observational Satellites - N (ATN) series built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.

This spacecraft will continue to provide a polar-orbiting platform to support environmental monitoring instruments for imaging and measuring the Earth's atmosphere, its surface and cloud cover, including Earth radiation, atmospheric ozone, aerosol distribution, sea surface temperature, and vertical temperature and water profiles in the troposphere and stratosphere.

It will assist in measuring proton and electron flux at orbit altitude, collecting data from remote platforms and will assist the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking system.

Additionally, NOAA-N is the fourth in the series to support dedicated microwave instruments for the generation of temperature, moisture, surface, and hydrological products in cloudy regions where visible and infrared instruments have decreased capability.

Once on orbit, NOAA-N will be renamed NOAA-18 and will provide measurements of the Earth's surface and atmosphere that will be entered into NOAA's weather forecasting models and used for other environmental studies.

Each day, polar-orbiting operational environmental satellites send global measurements to NOAA's Command and Data Acquisition station computers, adding vital information to forecasting models, especially over the oceans, where conventional data is lacking.

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