NOAA-16
[4] The goal of the NOAA/NESS polar orbiting program is to provide output products used in meteorological prediction and warning, oceanographic and hydrologic services, and space environment monitoring.[5] The NOAA-16 instrument complement consists of: 1° an improved six-channel Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer/3 (AVHRR/3); 2° an improved High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS/3); 3° the Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking System (SARSAT), which consists of the Search and Rescue Repeater (SARR) and the Search and Rescue Processor (SARP-2); 4° the French/CNES-provided improved Argos Data Collection System (Argos DCS-2); 5° the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Spectral radiometer (SBUV/2); and 6° the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), which consists of three separate modules, A1, A2, and B to replace the previous MSU and SSU instruments.[6] The AVHRR/3 on the Advanced TIROS-N (ATN) NOAA K-N series of polar orbiting meteorological satellites is an improved instrument over previous AVHRRs.The AVHRR/3 adds a sixth channel and is a cross-track scanning instrument providing imaging and radiometric data in the visible, near-IR and infrared of the same area on the Earth.Data from the near-IR and thermal channels provide information on the land and ocean surface temperature and radiative properties of clouds.[7] The improved HIRS/3 on the Advanced TIROS-N (ATN) NOAA K-N series of polar orbiting weather satellites is a 20-channel, step-scanned, visible and infrared spectrometer designed to provide atmospheric temperature and moisture profiles.The HIRS/3 instrument is basically identical to the HIRS/2 flown on previous spacecraft except for changes in six spectral bands to improve the sounding accuracy.[8] The AMSU was an instrument on the Advanced TIROS-N (ATN) NOAA K-N series of operational meteorological satellites.The AMSU-A was a line-scan instrument designed to measure scene radiance in 15 channels, ranging from 23.8 to 89 GHz, to derive atmospheric temperature profiles from the Earth's surface to about 3 millibar pressure height.[9] The AMSU was an instrument on the Advanced TIROS-N (ATN) NOAA K-N series of operational meteorological satellites.[10] The SEM-2 on the Advanced TIROS-N (ATN) NOAA K-N series of polar orbiting meteorological satellites provides measurements to determine the population of the Earth's radiation belts and data on charged particle precipitation in the upper atmosphere as a result of solar activity.[13] The SBUV/2 on the Advanced TIROS-N (ATN) NOAA K-N series of polar orbiting meteorological satellites is a dual monochrometer ultraviolet grating spectrometer for stratospheric ozone measurements.The MIRP process high data rate AVHRR to tape recorders (GAC) and direct read-out (HRPT and LAC).