A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit 35,786 km (22,236 mi) in altitude above Earth's equator, 42,164 km (26,199 mi) in radius from Earth's center, and following the direction of Earth's rotation.
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), operated by the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service division, supports weather forecasting, severe storm tracking, and meteorology research. Spacecraft and ground-based elements of the system work together to provide a continuous stream of environmental data. The National Weather Service (NWS) and the Meteorological Service of Canada use the GOES system for their North American weather monitoring and forecasting operations, and scientific researchers use the data to better understand land, atmosphere, ocean, and climate dynamics.
A weather satellite or meteorological satellite is a type of Earth observation satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites are mainly of two types: polar orbiting or geostationary.
The Molniya series satellites were military and communications satellites launched by the Soviet Union from 1965 to 1991, and by the Russian Federation from 1991 to 2004. These satellites used highly eccentric elliptical orbits known as Molniya orbits, which have a long dwell time over high latitudes. They are suited for communications purposes in polar regions, in the same way that geostationary satellites are used for equatorial regions.
The Meteosat series of satellites are geostationary meteorological satellites operated by EUMETSAT under the Meteosat Transition Programme (MTP) and the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) program.
Fēngyún are China's meteorological satellites. Launched since 1988 into polar Sun-synchronous and geosynchronous orbit, each three-axis stabilized Fengyun satellite is built by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) and operated by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA). To date, China has launched twenty-one Fengyun satellites in four classes. Fengyun 1 and Fengyun 3 satellites are in polar, Sun-synchronous orbit and Low Earth orbit while Fengyun 2 and 4 are geosynchronous orbit.
STSat-2A was a satellite launched by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the national space agency of South Korea, from the Naro Space Center in Goheung County, South Jeolla using the Naro-1 (KSLV-1) launch vehicle.
Chollian, also known as Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite 1 (COMS-1), was a South Korean satellite which was launched on 26 June 2010 and began operations on 1 April 2011. It was operated by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, who used it for communication, oceanography, and meteorological observation.
A hosted payload is a module attached to a commercial satellite with communications circuitry that operates independently of the main spacecraft but which shares the satellite's power supply and transponders. The concept has been also been referred to as "piggybacking" or "hitchhiking."
Elektro–L is a series of meteorological satellites developed for the Russian Federal Space Agency by NPO Lavochkin. The first satellite, Elektro-L No.1, was launched on 2 January 2011. It is the first Russian weather satellite that successfully operates in geostationary orbit, and is currently the second operational Russian weather satellite. The satellites have a mass of about 1620 kg and are designed to operate for 10 years each. They are capable of producing images of the Earth's whole hemisphere in both visible and infrared frequencies, providing data for climate change and ocean monitoring in addition to their primary weather forecasting role.
Nuri, also known as KSLV-II, is a three-stage launch vehicle, the second one developed by South Korea and the successor to Naro-1 (KSLV-1). Nuri is developed by Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). All three stages use indigenously developed launch vehicle engines, making Nuri the first indigenously developed South Korean orbital launch vehicle.
GOES-16, formerly known as GOES-R before reaching geostationary orbit, is the first of the GOES-R series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) operated by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). GOES-16 serves as the operational geostationary weather satellite in the GOES East position at 75.2°W, providing a view centered on the Americas. GOES-16 provides high spatial and temporal resolution imagery of the Earth through 16 spectral bands at visible and infrared wavelengths using its Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI). GOES-16's Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) is the first operational lightning mapper flown in geostationary orbit. The spacecraft also includes four other scientific instruments for monitoring space weather and the Sun.
The South Korean space program began in earnest in the 1980s when research on space development began. Korea Aerospace Research Institute was established in October 1989, and the Korea AeroSpace Administration was established in May 2024.
Himawari 8 (ひまわり8号) is a Japanese weather satellite, the 8th of the Himawari geostationary weather satellites operated by the Japan Meteorological Agency. The spacecraft was constructed by Mitsubishi Electric with assistance from Boeing, and is the first of two similar satellites to be based on the DS2000 satellite bus. Himawari 8 entered operational service on 7 July 2015 and is the successor to MTSAT-2 which was launched in 2006.
Sentinel-4 is a European Earth observation mission under development to support the European Union Copernicus Programme. It will focus on monitoring of trace gas concentrations and aerosols in the atmosphere to support operational services covering air-quality near-real time applications, air-quality protocol monitoring, and climate protocol monitoring. The specific objective of Sentinel-4 is to support this with a high revisit time over Europe.
Chollian-2B, also known as GEO-KOMPSAT-2B, is a geostationary satellite of South Korea, launched on February 18, 2020. It is a twin satellite of Chollian-2A. It can precisely observe the movement of Fine dust-causing substances in the atmosphere.
NEXTSat-1 is a small satellite developed by the KAIST Satellite Technology Research Center in South Korea.
NEXTSat-2 is a small satellite developed by the KAIST Satellite Technology Research Center in South Korea, and was launched on May 25, 2023 aboard Nuri. Its main mission is ground detection and measurement of cosmic radiation near the Earth.
KOMPSAT-3A, also known as Arirang-3A, is a South Korean Earth observation satellite equipped with a 55cm-resolution electro-optical camera and an infrared sensor developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. It was launched on March 26, 2015.
KOMPSAT-5, also known as Arirang-5, is an South Korean observation satellite launched by Korea Aerospace Research Institute on August 22, 2013. It is a low-orbit satellite with an operational orbit of 550 km.
