NOAA 19, or NOAA-N PRIME, was launched 2009 February 6 at 10:22 UT aboard a Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg. The 1440-kg satellite was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. The NOAA polar operational environmental satellites collect global data on: cloud cover; surface conditions such as ice, snow, and vegetation; atmospheric temperatures; and, moisture, aerosol, and ozone distributions. They also collect and relay information from fixed and moving data platforms. Initial orbital parameters for the satellite are: period 102 minutes, apogee 866 km, perigee 846 km and inclination 98.7 degrees.
The instruments on-board NOAA 19 include two radiometers, the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer/3 (AVHRR/3) and the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer/2 (SBUV-2); three sounders, the High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS/4), Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A), and the Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS); a space weather monitor, the Space Environment Monitor/2 (SEM-2); and an Advanced Data Collection System (ADCS). In addition, the satellite carries two search and rescue instruments: the Search and Rescue Repeater; and, the Search and Rescue Processor and three Digital Data Recorders.
Alternate Names
NOAA-N Prime
Facts in Brief
Launch Date: 2009-02-06
Launch Vehicle: Delta II
Launch Site: Vandenberg AFB, United States