NOAA-K is the latest model in four generations of TIROS satellites that have been designed and built for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) by Lockheed Martin heritage companies since 1960. Most of the spacecraft in this series have operated far longer than originally expected, earning TIROS its reputation as the workhorse of the civil space Earth-imaging inventory.

"We are extremely pleased with the NOAA-K spacecraft and the preparations for launch of this nation�s latest weather satellite," says Mike Henshaw, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space. "The TIROS program and the long-standing partnership with our NASA and NOAA customers is a source of genuine pride for our company."

"This team has been enormously dedicated to providing NASA and NOAA with the finest tools available to extend their ability to forecast the weather", says Al Lauer, director of Low Earth Orbit Meteorological Programs for Missiles & Space. "This satellite is the final TIROS weather bird from our East Windsor, New Jersey facility. Following this launch we will look forward to processing the remaining TIROS spacecraft in our new quarters in Sunnyvale."

Operating as a pair, two TIROS satellites orbit the planet in nearly north-south paths. As the Earth rotates, the entire globe, one swath at a time rolls into view of their instruments. The instruments are continually sensing the entire depth of the atmosphere and report on the following weather generating factors:

• Atmosphere Temperatures and Moisture Soundings
• Sea-surface Temperatures
• Land-surface Temperatures
• Cloud Cover and Heights
• Precipitable Moisture
• Total Ozone
• Clear Radiance
• Incoming and Radiated Heat

Together these data comprise irreplaceable inputs to the numerical weather forecast model and are vital to medium and long-range forecasting. Separately or in combination, the data are utilized to produce sea-surface temperature maps, ice condition charts, snow cover analysis, vegetation maps and other forecasting and management tools.

Additionally, NOAA-K supports an enhanced complement of microwave instruments for the generation of temperature, moisture, surface and hydrological products in cloudy regions where visible and infrared instruments have decreased capability. NOAA-K also carries search and rescue instruments that are used internationally for locating ships, aircraft, and people in distress. The use of satellites in search and rescue has been instrumental in saving more than 7000 lives since the inception of the Search and Rescue Satellite-aided Tracking (SARSAT) system.

The NOAA-K satellite will operate in a circular, near-polar orbit of 450 nautical miles (833 kilometers) above the Earth with an inclination angle of 98.7 degrees to the equator. Its orbital period, which is the time it takes to complete one orbit of the Earth, will be approximately 101 minutes.

The NOAA-K nominal orbit is Sun-synchronous and rotates eastward about the Earth�s polar axis 0.986 degrees each day, approximately the same rate and direction as the Earth�s average daily rotation about the Sun. The rotation keeps the satellite in a constant position with reference to the Sun for constant scene illumination throughout the year.

Following the launch and a comprehensive on-orbit verification period that lasts about 60 days, NASA turns operational control of the satellites over to NOAA. NOAA operates the satellites from the Satellite Operations Control Center of the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service in Suitland, MD.