Polar-Orbiting Satellites

This table lists the NOAA and Eumetsat polar-orbiting satellites which carry the AVHRR scanner plus some other satellites which we can receive. The table records values which are used in the AVHRR level-1b processing. See the notes afterwards for explanation.

Dundee
Number		 Number Name Space-
craft Id		 HRPT
Ident		 NOAA-1B
Ident		 NOAA-1B
Letter		 Orbit AVHRR
revision		 AVHRR
Ident		 Operational
4 Nimbus-7 Nimbus-7 - - - - - CZCS - -
5 TIROS-N TIROS-N 1 8 1 - - 1 - 1978-06-11 to 1980-11-01
6 NOAA-6 NOAA-A 3 24 2 A AM 1 - 1979-07-17 to 1986-07-09
7 NOAA-7 NOAA-C 7 56 4 C - 2 - 1981-06-24 to 1985-01-08
8 NOAA-8 NOAA-E 13 104 6 E AM 1 - 1982-06-20 to 1985-10-17
9 NOAA-9 NOAA-F 11 88 7 F - 2 - 1984-12-17 to 1995-01-19
10 NOAA-10 NOAA-G 15 120 8 G AM 1 - 1986-10-08 to 1994-10-06
11 NOAA-11 NOAA-H 1 8 1 H - 2 - 1988-10-21 to 1994-09-15
12 NOAA-12 NOAA-D 9 72 5 D AM 2 - 1991-07-16 to 2007-08-10
13 NOAA-13 NOAA-I - - - I - 2 - Died soon after launch
14 NOAA-14 NOAA-J 5 40 3 J PM 2 - 1995-01-19 to 2007-06-23
15 NOAA-15 NOAA-K 7 56 4 K AM 3 302 1998-05-13 to present (AVHRR faulty, transmission problems)
16 NOAA-16 NOAA-L 3 24 2 L PM 3 301 2000-09-21 to present (AVHRR faulty, tranmission uses odd polarisation)
17 NOAA-17 NOAA-M 11 88 6 M AM 3 304 2002-06-24 (launch)
18 NOAA-18 NOAA-N 13 104 7 N PM 3 306 2005-05-20 (launch)
19 NOAA-19 NOAA-N' 15 120 8 P PM 3 308 Delayed: 2009-02-06 to present
21 FengYun-1C FengYun-1C 12 56 - - - FY - Scanner faulty. Satellite shot down by Chinese missile
22 FengYun-1D FengYun-1D 13 56 - - - FY - Operational
42 AM-1 Terra 42 - - - AM MODIS-PFM - 1999 to present
43 PM-1 Aqua 154 - - - PM MODIS-1 - 2002 to present
50 OrbView-2 SeaStar ? 16 - - - SeaWiFS - 1997 to present
51 METOP-2 METOP-A 12 96 12 M2 AM 3 305 2006-10-19 to present
52 METOP-1 METOP-B 11 88 11 b? - 3 307 2012-09-17 to present
53 METOP-3 METOP-C 13 104 - c? - 3 309? -
60 NPP-1 NPP 157 - - - - VIIRS - Next millennium?
61 NPOESS-1 NPOESS-C1 123 - - - - VIIRS - -
62 NPOESS-2 NPOESS-C2 124 - - - - VIIRS - -
63 NPOESS-3 NPOESS-C3 125 - - - - VIIRS - -
64 NPOESS-4 NPOESS-C4 126 - - - - VIIRS - -
65 NPOESS-5 NPOESS-C5 45 - - - - VIIRS - Never?
66 NPOESS-6 NPOESS-C6 93 - - - - VIIRS - Never?

Notes:

  1. The Dundee number is fairly arbitrary. TN (Tiros-N) uses satellite number 5 because NOAA-5 was an analogue, not digital, satellite.
  2. NOAA satellites are given a name before launch and a number after launch, whereas MetOp satellites are given a number before launch and a name after.
  3. The Spacecraft Id is transmitted in the data stream. For NOAA satellites it is reused after a satellite has died so there are duplicates. The HRPT id is simply the Spacecraft Id as stored in the data (left bitshift 3 times). Some DSS software is configured using this number. The MetOp spacecraft Id listed here is as stored in the CCSDS packet not in the pseudo-HRPT generated from it. See the CCSDS scid list below. FengYun-1 ids are stored in the top 4 bits unlike NOAA.
  4. The NOAA-1B file format uses different Id numbers and its Data Set Name uses letters.
  5. The orbit is either morning (AM) or afternoon (PM) local overhead time. Traditionally these are alternating per-launch but some satellites fail and others slip into a different orbit so it is not exact.
  6. AVHRR revision 1 had 4 channels (1, 2, 3B, 4), AVHRR-2 has 5 (1, 2, 3B, 4, 5), AVHRR-3 has 6 but only transmits 5 (3A which is visible or 3B which is thermal). METOP carries AVHRR-3.
  7. AVHRR instrument id is stored in level 1b header records.
  8. Operational dates are from first to last pass in our archive.
  9. 2010-04-07: corrected NOAA-19 AVHRR Ident from 303 to 308.

View our reception parameters for other scanner details.

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