US’s newest USAF environmental satellite launched

The Defense Meteorological Satellite Programme (DMSP) F-18 Block 5D-3 spacecraft, built under contract for the U.S. Air Force by Lockheed Martin, was launched this morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. at 9:12 am PDT. “After several years of building, integrating, upgrading and testing DMSP F-18, our third Block 5D-3 spacecraft, it was enormously satisfying

NASA satellites capture monster Super Typhoon Melor

The Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite captured an image of Super Typhoon Melor in the Western Pacific Ocean during the early morning hours of Oct. 5, 2009. Melor has intensified to Super Typhoon strength and is currently a category 5 typhoon (with maximum sustained winds near 161 mph) on the Saffir

Capturing tomorrow’s satellite data with today’s instruments

Simulated images of 16 projected data streams for the GOES-R satellite reveal different components of the atmosphere, such as particulate matter, size of particles, water vapor, sulfur dioxide, precipitation, and cloud heights.Photo: UW-Madison CIMSS A satellite that won’t be launched into orbit until 2015 is already paying dividends for an advanced weather research project. Scientists