NOAA

Operates the nation’s weather satellites; NASA builds and launches them for it.

Founded: 1970
Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
Machines in the atlas: 1

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, created in 1970 within the Department of Commerce, operates the nation’s geostationary (GOES) and polar-orbiting (JPSS) weather satellites. NASA builds and launches the satellites for NOAA, which operates them and distributes their data to users worldwide; the next geostationary series, GeoXO, is planned to start launching in 2032.

Its machines

GOES-RBuilds part of it

Stories that involve NOAA

Landsat: 54 years of watching the land, and what comes after Landsat 9Since 1972 Landsat satellites have recorded Earth’s land, and since 2008 anyone can download the record free. NASA builds them and the USGS runs them; the next one has been redesigned, and its budget is in dispute.Story, about 10 minutes
Why the station, Landsat, GPS, GOES and Webb fly where they doHeight sets a satellite’s speed; tilt and shape set what it sees. Five neighborhoods, from the station about 400 km up to Webb 1.5 million km away, and the work each one makes possible.Story, about 11 minutes
NOAA’s weather satellites: how they watch storms, and what replaces themTwo GOES satellites stare at the Americas from 22,236 miles up while polar orbiters circle the globe. NASA builds them, NOAA flies them, and Congress is deciding how much of the next generation to pay for.Story, about 12 minutes
Parker Solar Probe and the Sun’s weather: flying through a star’s atmosphereA probe conceived in 1958 now passes 3.8 million miles from the Sun every three months: what it is learning about the solar wind, how solar storms reach power grids and satellites, and what a proposed 52 percent cut would mean.Story, about 7 minutes

Sources

About our agency NOAA
Our history NOAA
Geostationary Satellites NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
Joint Polar Satellite System NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service