NOAA-18
Encyclopedia
NOAA-18 is a weather forecasting satellite run by NOAA. NOAA-N (18) was launched on May 20, 2005, into a sun-synchronous orbit
at an altitude of 854 km above the Earth, with an orbital period of 102 minutes. It hosts the AMSU-A
, MHS
, AVHRR and High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) instruments, as well as the SBUV/2
ozone-monitoring instrument. It is the first NOAA POES
satellite to use MHS
in place of AMSU-B
.
APT
transmission frequency is 137.9125 MHz (NOAA-18 changed frequencies with NOAA-19 on June 23, 2009)
Sun-synchronous orbit
A Sun-synchronous orbit is a geocentric orbit which combines altitude and inclination in such a way that an object on that orbit ascends or descends over any given point of the Earth's surface at the same local mean solar time. The surface illumination angle will be nearly the same every time...
at an altitude of 854 km above the Earth, with an orbital period of 102 minutes. It hosts the AMSU-A
Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit
The Advanced microwave sounding unit is a multi-channel microwave radiometer installed on meteorological satellites. The instrument examines several bands of microwave radiation from the atmosphere to perform atmospheric sounding of temperature and moisture levels.-Products:Level-1 radiance data...
, MHS
Microwave humidity sounder
The Microwave Humidity Sounder is an instrument launched on NOAA's POES satellite series starting with NOAA-18 launched in May 2005 and European Space Agency's MetOp series starting with MetOp-A launched in October 2006. It is a five-channel passive microwave radiometer, with channels from 89 to...
, AVHRR and High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) instruments, as well as the SBUV/2
SBUV/2
Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet RadiometerThe Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer, or SBUV/2, is a series of operational remote sensors on NOAA weather satellites which monitor the density and distribution of ozone in the Earth’s atmosphere from six to 30 miles. SBUV/2 looks down at the Earth’s...
ozone-monitoring instrument. It is the first NOAA POES
Polar Operational Environmental Satellites
The Polar Operational Environmental Satellite project operates a constellation of weather satellites in polar orbits around the Earth. It is a joint effort between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites...
satellite to use MHS
Microwave humidity sounder
The Microwave Humidity Sounder is an instrument launched on NOAA's POES satellite series starting with NOAA-18 launched in May 2005 and European Space Agency's MetOp series starting with MetOp-A launched in October 2006. It is a five-channel passive microwave radiometer, with channels from 89 to...
in place of AMSU-B
Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit
The Advanced microwave sounding unit is a multi-channel microwave radiometer installed on meteorological satellites. The instrument examines several bands of microwave radiation from the atmosphere to perform atmospheric sounding of temperature and moisture levels.-Products:Level-1 radiance data...
.
APT
Automatic Picture Transmission
The Automatic Picture Transmission system is an analog image transmission system developed for use on weather satellites. It was introduced in the 1960s and over four decades has provided image data to relatively low-cost user stations at locations in most countries of the world...
transmission frequency is 137.9125 MHz (NOAA-18 changed frequencies with NOAA-19 on June 23, 2009)