AASC-built TIROS Launched
06/25/2002
The NOAA-M spacecraft, a polar-orbiting operational earth observation satellite, was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. on June 24, 2002.
AASC built the structure for the Lockheed Martin Space Systems NOAA-M satellite, and a Titan 2 rocket, provided under contract to the U.S. Air Force will carry the satellite into orbit.
Like other NOAA satellites, NOAA-M will collect meteorological data and transmit the information to users around the world to enhance weather forecasting. The data will be used primarily by NOAA's National Weather Service for its weather and climate forecasts. NOAA-M will be re-named NOAA-17 after achieving orbit.
NOAA-M is the latest in the Advanced TIROS-N (ATN) satellite series. All have been designed and built for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) by Lockheed Martin companies since the first Television and Infrared Observational Satellite (TIROS) weather satellite launch in April 1960. Most of the spacecraft in the series have operated far longer than originally expected, earning them a reputation as the workhorse of the civil space Earth-imaging inventory. AASC has built all the structures for the series of TIROS satellites, including the original RCA series.