Open AccessEuropean weather satellite launches
Author(s) -
Zielinski Sarah
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2006eo450004
Subject(s) - satellite , meteorology , environmental science , equator , polar orbit , cloud cover , ozone monitoring instrument , trace gas , remote sensing , latitude , cloud computing , geography , ozone , geodesy , computer science , aerospace engineering , engineering , operating system
The first of three planned, European, polar‐orbiting meteorological satellites, MetOp‐A (Meteorological Operational satellite), successfully launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on 19 October.The satellite—which was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Meteorological Satellite Organisation—will travel in a sun‐synchronous, morning orbit, circling the Earth from pole to pole 14 times a day while always crossing the equator at 9:30 A.M. local time. MetOp‐A carries 12 instruments for collecting various types of data, such as: atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles; concentrations of ozone and other trace gases; wind speed and direction; and imagery of cloud cover and ocean and land surfaces.