14 DAY TRIAL // The NOAA-N Prime satellite, designed by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will be launched on February 4th from NASA's Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The new satellite will have a polar-orbiting operational environment, and its design promises to improve NOAA's ability to forecast the weather and coordinate rescue operations in regions that are beyond the reach of conventional means of observation.
"Within the U.S. and around the world there is a growing demand for reliable coverage and accurate data from satellites that can tell what's happening in the environment. Launching NOAA-N-Prime will help meet the demand," NOAA's Satellite and Information Service assistant administrator Mary Kicza says.
"NASA is proud of our many years of successful collaboration with NOAA in building and launching these polar orbiting satellites. The success of this mission will provide a healthy polar constellation for continuous data products until the follow-on program launches," NASA representative Wayne McIntyre, who is also the manager of the NOAA-N Prime Project, adds.
Since 1982, when the US first began deploying the SARSAT (Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System ), more than 24,500 lives have been saved. SARSAT is connected to a myriad of processing stations, which are able to pick up distress beacons via satellite feeds, and then forward them to rescue teams, which can then be immediately deployed. This system has helped save aviators, sailors, as well as individuals who ventured further than was safe for them.
If the satellite works according to its designated parameters, NOAA will also have a better way of predicting how much solar radiation enters the atmosphere through the poles, as the instruments aboard the NOAA-N Prime are very sensible. As opposed to its predecessor, NOAA-18, the N Prime will also feature an Advanced Data Collection System (ADCS), as well as an improved Search and Rescue Processor (SRP), both supplied by France.