NOAA-19

NOAA-19
Name	NOAA-19
Mission type	Weather satellite
Operator	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Cospar id	2009-005A
Satcat	33591
Manufacturer	Boeing (Boeing Defense, Space & Security)
Launch date	2009-02-06
Launch vehicle	Delta II
Launch site	Vandenberg Air Force Base
Orbit reference	Geocentric orbit
Orbit regime	Sun-synchronous orbit
Apsis	gee

NOAA-19 is an operational polar-orbiting environmental satellite launched in 2009 to provide global meteorology observations, oceanography inputs, and climatology data continuity. Managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and built by Boeing, the spacecraft continued the long-running series of NOAA polar orbiting satellites that began with early TIROS missions. NOAA-19 supported operational forecasting for agencies such as the National Weather Service and contributed to international programs including the World Meteorological Organization Global Observing System.

Overview

NOAA-19 completed the suite of afternoon polar-orbiting platforms delivering visible, infrared, and microwave sounding and imaging data essential to numerical weather prediction centers like the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, the Japan Meteorological Agency, and the Met Office. Its payload carried instruments descended from designs used on NOAA-17, NOAA-18, and the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System precursor elements. The spacecraft formed part of a coordinated architecture linking Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite assets and Argos (satellite system) data to support forecasting, environmental monitoring, and scientific research.

Mission and Objectives

Primary objectives included providing continuity of afternoon-orbit Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer observations for sea surface temperature retrievals used by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ocean services, delivering sounding profiles for assimilation into models used by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, and supporting search and rescue via the SARSAT system. Additional goals encompassed long-term climate record preservation for programs overseen by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and contributions to disaster monitoring used by organizations such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Spacecraft and Instruments

The spacecraft bus was produced by Boeing and hosted a complement of instruments: the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR/3) for imaging, the High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS/4), the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU-A), the Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS), the Space Environment Monitor (SEM-2), and the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking (SARSAT) package including Cospas-SARSAT transponder support. NOAA-19 also carried the Argos data collection system and the Total Solar Irradiance Sensor (when applicable on analogous platforms) lineage instruments used by solar physics researchers associated with NASA and university groups. Instrument suites were calibrated using on-orbit vicarious techniques tied to observatories such as Mauna Kea Observatory and ship-based buoy networks maintained by National Data Buoy Center.

Launch and Orbit

NOAA-19 was launched on a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base into a sun-synchronous, near-polar orbit timed to provide an approximate 14:00 local solar time equator crossing in the afternoon constellation. The launch was supported by mission partners including United Launch Alliance contractors and flight-design teams from NOAA and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The chosen sun-synchronous orbit enabled consistent illumination geometry for AVHRR imaging and coordination with morning-orbit platforms such as Metop-A and Metop-B for diurnal sampling and intercalibration activities.

Operations and Data Products

Operational control and data distribution were handled by NOAA command centers and the NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, with assimilation into modeling centers like NCEP and international data exchanges via the World Meteorological Organization frameworks. Primary data products included radiance and calibrated imagery from AVHRR, atmospheric temperature and humidity soundings from HIRS and AMSU/MHS, ozone and space environment datasets from SEM-2, and SARSAT distress beacon detections passed to national rescue coordination centers such as the United States Coast Guard. Reprocessed climate data records derived from NOAA-19 have been used by research institutions including NOAA Climate Program Office, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and numerous university groups.

Performance and Anomalies

During its mission NOAA-19 demonstrated long-term performance comparable to predecessors like NOAA-18, though it experienced performance degradations typical of polar-orbiters: detector noise growth, calibration drift, and occasional instrument mode transitions requiring on-orbit software adjustments overseen by teams at NOAA and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The Space Environment Monitor reported charged-particle environment variability relevant to space weather groups such as National Weather Service space weather services and the Space Weather Prediction Center. Routine anomaly resolutions involved collaboration with contractors including Boeing and laboratory support from facilities like NOAA Laboratories.

Legacy and Impact

NOAA-19 extended a multi-decade climate and operational weather record foundational to international programs managed by the World Meteorological Organization, informed policy analyses by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and supported applied services for maritime operators overseen by the International Maritime Organization. Its datasets remain part of reanalysis projects conducted by ECMWF, NCEP/NCAR, and academic consortia at institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Colorado Boulder, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The platform's long-term contributions influenced designs for follow-on programs including Joint Polar Satellite System and operational instrument development at contractors like Ball Aerospace and Northrop Grumman.

Category:Weather satellites Category:Satellites launched in 2009