NOAA 18
Delta II 7320-10C
United States Air Force
Mission
NOAA 18
- Type: Earth Science
- Orbit: Sun-Synchronous Orbit
- Launch Cost: $51,000,000
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.
Location
Space Launch Complex 2W
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Find the best place to watch the launch from Vandenberg
Space Launch Complex 2W has witnessed the launch of 97 rockets, including 97 orbital launch attempts. While Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA, has been the site for 792 rocket launches.
Vandenberg Space Force Base is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from the Western Range, and also performs missile testing. The United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 30 serves as the host delta for the base, equivalent to an Air Force air base wing. In addition to its military space launch mission, Vandenberg Space Force Base also hosts space launches for civil and commercial space entities, such as NASA and SpaceX.
Rocket
United Launch Alliance Delta II 7320-10C
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.
Agency
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947.
