NOAA 16 is an American weather monitoring satellite that was launched by a Titan 2 rocket from Vandenberg AFB at 10:22 UT on 2000 Sep 21. Initial orbital parameters were period 102.1 min, apogee 850 km, perigee 843 km, and inclination 98.8 deg.
NOAA 16 continues the fourth-generation of operational, polar orbiting, meteorological satellite series (NOAA K-N) operated by the National Environmental Satellite Service (NESS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA 16 also continues the series of Advanced TIROS-N (ATN) spacecraft begun with the launch of NOAA-8 (NOAA-E) in 1983 but with additional new and improved instrumentation over the NOAA A-J series and a new launch vehicle (Titan II). NOAA 16 will be in a morning equator-crossing orbit and is intended to replace the NOAA-J as the prime morning spacecraft.
The goal of the NOAA/NESS polar orbiting program is to provide output products used in meteorological prediction and warning, oceanographic and hydrologic services, and space environment monitoring. The polar orbiting system complements the NOAA/NESS geostationary meteorological satellite program (GOES).
The 2,200-kg cylindrical (diameter 2 m, length 4 m) spacecraft carries several atmospheric and weather monitoring instruments. The AVHRR-3 (Advanced High Resolution Radiometer) has six wavelength channels (0.58-0.68, 0.625-1.00, 1.58-1.64, 3.55-3.93, 10.30-11.30, 11.50-12.50 microns) of which the first three monitor the backscattered solar energy, and the second three monitor the emissions from land, sea, and clouds, all with a spatial resolution of 1.1 km. The HIRS-3 (High-resolution Infrared Sounder) monitors the atmosphere at 19 closely spaced channels so as to derive the vertical temperature profile out to an altitude of 40 km. The AMSU-A and AMSU-B (Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit) capture the microwave emissions. AMSU-A operates in 15 channels covering 23.8-89.0 GHz, and AMSU-B in five channels covering the 89-183 GHz band to derive the tropospheric water vapor profile. The SBUV-2 (Solar Backscatter Ultra Violet) instrument derives the ozone profile by monitoring the incident and backscattered radiation in 12 wavelength bands covering the 252-340 nm band. In addition to the atmospheric instruments, the spacecraft also carries a SEM-2 instrument to monitor kilovolt and megavolt electrons and protons. The data are stored onboard and transmitted over Fairbanks, AK and Wallops Island, VA.
Alternate Names
Advanced TIROS-N (ATN)
POES 16
Facts in Brief
Launch Date: 2000-09-21
Launch Vehicle: Titan II
Launch Site: Vandenberg AFB, United States
Mass: 1457.0 kg
Nominal Power: 330.0 W