polar satellite

Polar-orbiting
weather satellites

Below are checklists of Polar-orbiting weather satellites, including launch dates and images of the satellites. This is a work in progress, and completeness is our goal. If readers know of additional information or images, please contact the authors using the e-mail addresses at the bottom of this page.

Satellite series covered:

USA Television and InfraRed Observation Satellite (TIROS) series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
TIROS-1 (TIROS-A)1960-04-01 TIROS-1
TIROS-1
TIROS-1
TIROS-1/8 type (camera on bottom)
TIROS-1/8 type (camera on bottom)
TIROS-1/8 type (camera on bottom)
TIROS-1/8 type (camera on bottom)
TIROS-1/8 type (camera on bottom)
TIROS-1/8 type (camera on bottom) 		TIROSTIROS and ESSA
TIROS-2 (TIROS-B)1960-11-23
TIROS-3 (TIROS-C)1961-07-12
TIROS-4 (TIROS-D)1962-02-08
TIROS-5 (TIROS-E)1962-06-19
TIROS-6 (TIROS-F)1962-09-18TIROS-6
TIROS-7 (TIROS-G)1963-06-19TIROS-7 (newspaper article)
TIROS-8 (TIROS-H)1963-12-21 TIROS-8
TIROS-8 (newspaper article)
TIROS-9 (TIROS-I)1965-01-22 TIROS-9
TIROS/ESSA type (camera thru side)
TIROS/ESSA type (camera thru side)
TIROS/ESSA type (camera thru side)
TIROS-10 (OT-1)1965-07-02TIROS-10 (newspaper article)

USA Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) satellites / TIROS Operational System (TOS):

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
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ESSA-1 (OT-3)1966-02-03 ESSA
ESSA-1 (newspaper article) 		ESSATIROS and ESSA
ESSA-2 (OT-2)1966-02-28ESSA-2
ESSA-3 (TOS-A)1966-10-02ESSA-3
ESSA-4 (TOS-B)1967-01-26
ESSA-5 (TOS-C)1967-04-20
ESSA-6 (TOS-D)1967-11-10ESSA-6
ESSA-7 (TOS-E)1968-08-16ESSA-7
ESSA-8 (TOS-F)1968-12-15
ESSA-9 (TOS-G)1969-02-26

USA Nimbus-series satellites:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
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Nimbus-1 (Nimbus-A)1964-08-28 Nimbus
Nimbus
Nimbus
Nimbus-1
Nimbus-1 		NimbusNimbus
Nimbus-2 (Nimbus-C)1966-05-15Nimbus-2
Nimbus-B [failed]1968-05-18
Nimbus-3 (Nimbus-B2)1969-04-13Nimbus-3
Nimbus-4 (Nimbus-D)1970-04-08 Nimbus-4
Nimbus-4
Nimbus-5 (Nimbus-E)1972-12-10 Nimbus-5
Nimbus-5/6 type
Nimbus-6 (Nimbus-F)1975-06-12 Nimbus-6
Nimbus-5/6 type
Nimbus-7 (Nimbus-G)1978-10-24 Nimbus-7
Nimbus-7
Nimbus-7
Nimbus-7
Nimbus-G (sticker)

USA Improved TIROS Operational System (ITOS) / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
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TIROS-M (ITOS-1)1970-01-23 ITOS (NOAA)
ITOS (NOAA)
ITOS (NOAA) 		ITOS-type / TIROS-N-type / ATN-type (NOAA)ITOS-type / TIROS-N-type / ATN-type (NOAA)
NOAA-1 (ITOS-A)1970-12-11
ITOS-B [failed]1971-10-21
ITOS-C / ITOS-E2Never launched
NOAA-2 (ITOS-D)1972-10-15NOAA-2
ITOS-E / ITOS-E1 [failed]1973-07-16
NOAA-3 (ITOS-F)1973-11-06NOAA-3
NOAA-4 (ITOS-G)1974-11-15
NOAA-5 (ITOS-H)1976-07-29
(Later) NOAA-series satellites

USA Next Generation TIROS-N / NOAA series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
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(Earlier) NOAA-series satellites
TIROS-N1978-10-13 TIROS-N
TIROS-N 		ITOS-type / TIROS-N-type / ATN-type (NOAA)ITOS-type / TIROS-N-type / ATN-type (NOAA)
NOAA-6 (NOAA-A)1979-06-27
NOAA-B [failed]1980-05-29
NOAA-7 (NOAA-C)1981-06-23
NOAA-12 (NOAA-D)11991-05-14 NOAA-D
NOAA-D (sketch)
(Later) NOAA-series satellites

1NOAA-D was launched as NOAA-12, long after the rest of the TIROS-N and NOAA-A — NOAA-C series.

USA Advanced TIROS-N (ATN) / NOAA series:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
(Earlier) NOAA-series satellites
NOAA-8 (NOAA-E) / SARSAT-11983-03-28 ATN (NOAA)
ATN (NOAA)
ATN (NOAA)
ATN (NOAA) 		ITOS-type / TIROS-N-type / ATN-type (NOAA)ITOS-type / TIROS-N-type / ATN-type (NOAA)
NOAA-9 (NOAA-F) / SARSAT-21984-12-12
NOAA-10 (NOAA-G) / SARSAT-31986-09-17
NOAA-11 (NOAA-H) / SARSAT-4 / Argos-11988-09-24NOAA-11 (newspaper article)
NOAA-12 (NOAA-D)1 / Argos-11991-05-14 NOAA-D
NOAA-D
NOAA-13 (NOAA-I) / SARSAT-51993-08-09
NOAA-14 (NOAA-J) / SARSAT-6 / Argos-11994-12-30
NOAA-15 (NOAA-K) / SARSAT-7 / Argos-21998-05-13 NOAA-15
NOAA-15
NOAA-16 (NOAA-L) / SARSAT-8 / Argos-22000-09-21
NOAA-17 (NOAA-M) / SARSAT-9 / Argos-22002-06-24 NOAA-17
NOAA-17
NOAA-18 (NOAA-N) / SARSAT-10 / Argos-22005-05-20 NOAA-18
NOAA-18
NOAA-19 (NOAA-N' (N-prime)) / SARSAT-12 / Argos-32009-02-06 NOAA-19
NOAA-19
NOAA-N' (N-prime) (patch)
NOAA-N' (N-prime) (patch, back)
(Later) NOAA-series satellites

1NOAA-D was launched as NOAA-12, long after the rest of the TIROS-N and NOAA-A — NOAA-C series.

USA Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) series (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) series):

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
(Earlier) NOAA-series satellites
Suomi / S-NPP / JPSS-0 [Ball Aerospace] / formerly NPP2011-10-28 NPOESS
NPOESS
NPOESS (patch)
NPOESS (patch)
S-NPP
S-NPP
S-NPP
(S)NPP (patch)
(S)NPP (patch)
(S)NPP (patch, back)
JPSS (patch)
JPSS (patch)
JPSS (patch, back) 		S-NPP / JPSS (NOAA)S-NPP / JPSS (NOAA)
JPSS-1 [Ball Aerospace] / formerly NPOESS-1 / NOAA-20 / SARSAT / Argos-32017-11-18 JPSS-1
JPSS-1 (patch)
JPSS-2 [Northrop Grumman] / formerly NPOESS-2 / NOAA-212022-11-10 JPSS-2
JPSS-2 (patch)
JPSS-2 (passport stamp)
JPSS-4 [Northrop Grumman] / PFO2027-?
JPSS-3 [Northrop Grumman] / PFO2032-?

Russian Meteor-series satellites:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
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Meteor-1 #1 / Kosmos-441964-08-28 Kosmos-100 (Meteor-1)
Kosmos-100 (Meteor-1) (sketch)
Kosmos-144
Kosmos-144 		MeteorMeteor
Meteor-1 #2 / Kosmos-581965-02-25
Meteor-1 #3 / Kosmos-1001965-12-17
Meteor-1 #4 / Kosmos-1181966-05-11
Meteor-1 #5 / Kosmos-1221966-06-25
Meteor-1 #6 / Kosmos-1441967-02-28
Meteor-1 #7 / Kosmos-1561967-04-27
Meteor-1 #8 / Kosmos-1841967-10-24
Meteor-1 #9 / Kosmos-2061968-03-14
Meteor-1 #10 / Kosmos-2261968-06-12
Meteor-1 #11 / Kosmos-(265) [failed]1969-02-04
Meteor-1-11969-03-26 Meteor-1
Meteor-1
Meteor-Priroda
Meteor-1-30
Meteor-1-21969-10-06
Meteor-1-31970-03-17
Meteor-1-41970-04-28
Meteor-1-51970-06-23
Meteor-1-61970-10-15
Meteor-1-71971-01-20
Meteor-1-81971-04-17
Meteor-1-91971-07-16
Meteor-1-101971-12-29
Meteor-1-111972-03-30
Meteor-1-121972-06-30
Meteor-1-131972-10-26
Meteor-1-141973-03-20
Meteor-1-151973-05-29
Meteor-1-161974-03-05
Meteor-1-171974-04-24
Meteor-1-18 / Priroda-11974-07-09
Meteor-1-191974-10-28
Meteor-1-201974-12-17
Meteor-1-211975-04-01
Meteor-1-221975-09-18
Meteor-1-231975-12-25
Meteor-1-241976-04-07
Meteor-1-25 / Priroda-21976-05-15
Meteor-1-261976-10-15
Meteor-1-271977-04-05
Meteor-1-28 / Priroda-31977-06-29
Meteor-1-29 / Priroda-41979-01-25
Meteor-1-30 / Priroda-51980-06-18
Meteor-1-31 / Priroda-61981-07-10
Meteor-2-11975-07-11 Meteor-2
Meteor-2
Meteor-2-21977-01-06
Meteor-2-31977-12-14
Meteor-2-41979-03-01
Meteor-2-51979-10-31
Meteor-2-61980-09-09
Meteor-2-71981-05-14
Meteor-2-81982-03-25
Meteor-2-91982-12-14
Meteor-2-101983-10-28
Meteor-2-111984-07-05
Meteor-2-121985-02-06
Meteor-2-131985-12-26
Meteor-2-141986-05-27
Meteor-2-151987-01-05
Meteor-2-161987-08-18
Meteor-2-171988-01-30
Meteor-2-181989-02-28
Meteor-2-191990-06-29
Meteor-2-201990-09-28
Meteor-2-211993-08-31
Meteor-3 (1a) / Kosmos-16121984-11-27 Meteor-3
Meteor-3
Meteor-3
Meteor-3-11985-10-24
Meteor-3-21988-07-26
Meteor-3-31989-10-24
Meteor-3-41991-04-24
Meteor-3-5 / TOMS-21991-08-15
Meteor-3-61994-01-25
Meteor-3M / SAGE-32001-12-10 Meteor-3M
Meteor-3M
Meteor-M12009-09-17 Meteor-M
Meteor-M
Meteor-M22014-07-08Meteor-M2
Meteor-M2-1 [failed]2017-11-28Meteor-M2-1
Meteor-M2-22019-07-05
Meteor-M2-32023-06-27
Meteor-M2-42024-02-29
Meteor-M2-52024-?
Meteor-M2-62025-?
Meteor-M3202xMeteor-M3

China/PRC Feng Yun (FY-1 and FY-3) polar-orbiting satellites:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
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FY-1-1 (FY-1A)1988-09-06 FY-1 (earlier, 3-section solar panels)
FY-1 (earlier, 3-section solar panels)
FY-1 (later, 4-section solar panels)
FY-1 (+ FY-2A) 		FY-1FY-1
FY-1-2 (FY-1B)1990-09-03
FY-1C1999-05-10
FY-1D2002-05-15
FY-3A2008-05-27 FY-3A
FY-3A 		FY-3FY-3
FY-3B2010-11-04
FY-3C2013-09-23
FY-3D2017-11-14
FY-3E2021-07-04
FY-3F2023-08-03
FY-3G2023-04-16
FY-3H2024-?
FY-3I2026-?
FY-3J2027-?

European (Eumetsat) METeorological OPerational (MetOp) satellites:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
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MetOp-A / SARSAT-11 / Argos-32006-10-19 MetOp (early-design)
MetOp 		MetOpMetOp
MetOp-B / SARSAT-13 / Argos-32012-09-17
MetOp-C / SARSAT-? / Argos-32018-11-07
MetOp-SG-A1 / EPS-SG-A1 / Sentinel-5A2025-?MetOp-SG-A
MetOp-SG-A2 / EPS-SG-A2 / Sentinel-5B2031-?
MetOp-SG-A3 / EPS-SG-A3 / Sentinel-5C2038-?
MetOp-SG-B1 / EPS-SG-B1 / Argos-42025-?MetOp-SG-B
MetOp-SG-B2 / EPS-SG-B22032-?
MetOp-SG-B3 / EPS-SG-B32039-?

China/PRC Tianmu constellation satellites:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
Tianmu-1-01, Tianmu-1-022023-01-09
Tianmu-1-03, Tianmu-1-04, Tianmu-1-05, Tianmu-1-062023-03-22
Tianmu-1-07, Tianmu-1-08, Tianmu-1-09, Tianmu-1-102023-07-20
Tianmu-1-11, Tianmu-1-12, Tianmu-1-13, Tianmu-1-142023-12-25
Tianmu-1-15, Tianmu-1-16, Tianmu-1-17, Tianmu-1-182024-01-05
Tianmu-1-19, Tianmu-1-20, Tianmu-1-21, Tianmu-1-222023-12-27

Other (selected) USA polar-orbiting satellites:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
NEON QuickSounder2026-?NEON QuickSounder
NEON series-1203x

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Updated: 2024-08-04