UNDER THE HOOD How Satellites Work

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UNDER THE HOODHow Satellites Work
Satellites In Our Everyday World Raleigh, North
Carolina March 13-15, 2003
Wayne Winston NOAA NESDIS wayne.winston_at_noaa.gov

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AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer

• Used on the POES polar orbiter
• Operates on 6 channels in visible and near IR
• Has a maximum resolution of 1 km
• Primary imaging instrument

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AMSU A Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit - A

• Used on the POES polar orbiters
• Operates on 15 microwave channels
• Used with the HIRS instrument data
• Provide temperature and humidity profiles
• surface to top of stratosphere
• Detects precipitation rates, snow cover, sea
• ice concentration and soil moisture
• 48km resolution

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AMSU-B Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit - B
SBUV Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer

• Used on POES polar orbiters
• Uses 5 microwave channels
• Provides vertical water vapor surface
• to 7.5 miles
• 16 km resolution

• Used on the POES polar orbiters
• Measures stratospheric ozone to 1 accuracy
• Measures total column ozone to 5 accuracy

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HIRS High Resolution Infrared Sounder
SEM Space Environment Monitor

• Used on POES polar orbiters
• Operates in 1 visible and 19 IR
• channels
• Used with AMSU instrument data
• Determine vertical temperatures
• to 29 miles
• Precipitable water, cloud height and
• coverage, surface radiance

• Used on POES polar orbiters
• Measures Earths radiation belts and
• solar particle flux
• Warning and measurement of solar storms

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POES Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite

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How Big
Is A Satellite

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POES TIROS facts

• Main Body about 13 9 long by
• 6 3 in diameter
• Solar array 9 by 20
• Launch weight 4,920 pounds
• Orbital distance, about 510 miles
• Orbital period, 101 minutes
• Design life 2-3 years
• (NOAA-12 launched May
• 1991 still operating)

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NOAA-17 final assembly

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TITAN II LAUNCH
TITAN II can lift 5,000 pounds into a low Earth
orbit. About 36 minutes from lift off to
orbital insertion.

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A Little History
TIROS 1 launched April 1, 1960. Weighs 270
pounds, 42 in diameter by 19 high. Spins at 12
rpm. Lasts 77 days.

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Where Did This Picture Come From And How Did It
Come To Be?

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POES Components Equipment

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GOES facts

• Launch weight 4,641 pounds
• including propellant
• Main body about 8 8 by 8 by 7
• Orbital distance 22,240 miles
• Design life 5 years
• GOES-8 launched April 1994 will
• be replaced 4/1 by GOES-12

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GOES Geostationary Orbiting Environmental
Satellite

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GOES Dimensions

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GOES Final Assembly

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Fitting GOES Solar Array

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GOES Imager

• Operates on 5 channels,
• visible, infrared, and
• water vapor
• Resolution ranges from 1
• to 8 km
• Scans full disc 60N-60S
• in about 26 minutes

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GOES Imager Scanning Path

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GOES Imager

• Produces vertical temperature
• and water vapor profiles
• Senses 19 bands from visible,
• to short IR to longwave IR
• Scan an area 3000 by 3000 km
• in about 42 minutes

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GOES Components Equipment

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A Little (more) History
POLAR ORBITERS 10 TIROS series (4/60) 7 NIMBUS
series (8/64) 9 ESSA series (2/66) 8 ITOS/NOAA
series (1/70) 4 TIROS series (10/78) 8 Advanced
TIROS series (3/83)
GEOSTATIONARY ORBITERS 5 Advanced Technology
Satellites (12/66) 2 Synchronous Meteorological
Satellites (5/74) 7 GOES (First Generation)
(10/75) 4 GOES (Second Generation) (4/94) 4 GOES
(Third Generation) (7/01)

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How Big Is A

Satellite (Part 2)
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What About All Those Colors?

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