NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1986-073A
NOAA-G was a third-generation operational meteorological satellite for use in the National Operational Environmental Satellite System (NOESS) and for the support of the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP) during 1978-84. The satellite design provided an economical and stable sun-synchronous platform for advanced operational instruments to measure the earth's atmosphere, its surface and cloud cover, and the near-space environment. Primary sensors included (1) an advanced very-high-resolution radiometer (AVHRR) for observing daytime and nighttime global cloud cover, (2) a TIROS operational vertical sounder (TOVS) for obtaining temperature and water vapor profiles through the earth's atmosphere, (3) an earth radiation experiment (ERBE) for measuring the energy exchange between the earth-atmosphere system and space, and (4) a solar backscatter ultraviolet spectrometer (SBUV/2) for providing ozone distributions in the atmosphere. Secondary experiments consisted of a space environment monitor (SEM), which measured the proton and electron fluxes near the earth, and a data collection system (DCS), which processed and relayed to central data acquisition stations the various meteorological data received from free-floating balloons and ocean buoys distributed around the globe. A search and rescue (SAR) system was also carried on NOAA-G to receive, process, and relay distress signals transmitted by beacons carried by civil aircraft and some classes of marine vessels. The satellite was based upon the Block 5D spacecraft bus developed for the U.S. Air Force, and was capable of maintaining an earth-pointing accuracy of better than plus or minus 0.1 deg with a motion rate of less than 0.035 deg/s. NOAA 10 operations were closed as of August 1991.
Launch Date: 1986-09-17
Launch Vehicle: Atlas E
Launch Site: Vandenberg AFB, United States
Mass: 386 kg
Questions and comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Mr. James R. Greaves | Program Manager | NASA Headquarters | james.r.greaves@nasa.gov |
Mr. Gerald W. Longanecker | Project Manager | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | |
Dr. Albert Arking | Project Scientist | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | arking@aa.gsfc.nasa.gov |