LAUNCH CENTER
Success
Fri May 20 2005
United States Air Force
NOAA 18
Launch Successful
LAUNCH PREVIEW
Launch Time
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(10:22 AM UTC)
Launch Window Start
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(10:22 AM UTC)
Launch Window End
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(10:22 AM UTC)
RECOVERY OVERVIEW
Location
No Recovery Specified
Type
No Recovery Specified
Rocket Details
Name:
Delta II 7320-10CDescription:
Delta II is an American space launch system developed by McDonnell Douglas, now part of the Delta rocket family operated by United Launch Alliance. With more than 150 missions and a nearly perfect track record, Delta II has established itself as one of the most successful orbital launch systems.
MISSION OVERVIEW
- Type: Earth Science
- NOAA-18, known before launch as NOAA-N, is a weather forecasting satellite run by NOAA. NOAA-N (18) was launched on May 20, 2005, into a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 854 km above the Earth, with an orbital period of 102 minutes. It hosts the AMSU-A, MHS, AVHRR, Space Environment Monitor SEM/2 instrument and High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) instruments, as well as the SBUV/2 ozone-monitoring instrument. It is the first NOAA POES satellite to use MHS in place of AMSU-B. NOAA-18 also hosts Cospas-Sarsat payloads.
COMPLEX OVERVIEW
Location
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Pad
Space Launch Complex 2W