The satellites that watch the weather
Every forecast starts with pictures from orbit. The geostationary weather satellites each stand over one longitude of the equator and never set: GOES-19 as GOES East over 75.2° W and GOES-18 as GOES West, Meteosat-12 at 0°, Himawari-9 and Feng Yun 4B as GCAT lists them. The polar ones circle from pole to pole, the two Metops covering every point of the Earth twice a day, with MetOp-SG A1, Suomi NPP, NOAA-20 and NOAA-21 beside them. TIROS-1, the first of them all, has been up since 1960. The ones Orbinauts has not written about are named and dated as GCAT records them.
- TIROS-1
The world's first successful weather satellite, launched on 1 April 1960; its mission ended after 78 days and it is still in orbit.
- Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 19
NOAA's GOES East since 7 April 2025, standing over 75.2° W; launched on 25 June 2024, 5,000 kg, with a full picture of the disc every ten minutes.
- Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 18
NOAA's GOES West since 4 January 2023, over the Pacific at 137.0° W; launched on 1 March 2022, 5,192 kg.
- Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 16
GOES East until GOES-19 took over on 7 April 2025, now a backup in storage at 104.7° W; launched on 19 November 2016, 5,192 kg.
- Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 17
GOES West until GOES-18 replaced it on 4 January 2023, its imager's cooling at fault, and a backup in storage since; launched on 1 March 2018, 5,192 kg.
- Meteosat-12
Europe's prime weather satellite at 0° since 16 June 2025; launched on 13 December 2022, 3,800 kg, carrying Europe's first lightning imager in orbit.
- Meteosat-11
Launched on 15 July 2015; scans the northern third of the Meteosat disc every five minutes from 9.5° E.
- Himawari-9
Launched on 2 November 2016, 3,500 kg, flown by the Japan Meteorological Agency and built by Mitsubishi Electric (GCAT).
- Feng Yun 4B
Launched on 2 June 2021, 5,380 kg, flown by China's National Satellite Meteorological Center (GCAT).
- Metop-B
Launched on 17 September 2012; EUMETSAT's primary Metop since 24 April 2013, 817 km up on a polar orbit that covers every point of the Earth twice a day.
- Metop-C
Launched on 7 November 2018; Metop-B's backup on the same polar orbit, 4,083 kg at launch.
- MetOp-SG A1
Launched on 13 August 2025, the first of EUMETSAT's second generation of polar weather satellites, 4,040 kg in orbit, carrying Copernicus Sentinel-5 as well.
- Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership
Launched on 28 October 2011; NOAA's and NASA's polar satellite behind the night-lights maps, over any point of the Earth twice a day.
- NOAA-20
Launched on 18 November 2017, 2,200 kg, flown by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and built by Ball Aerospace (GCAT).
- NOAA-21
Launched on 10 November 2022, 2,930 kg, flown by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and built by Northrop Grumman (GCAT).
Whether each one is operating was read from the catalogue on Nov 9, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC. The names and facts of the satellites Orbinauts has not written about are GCAT’s, and so is whether a satellite is operating, except where Orbinauts writes when its mission ended. GCAT is Jonathan McDowell’s general catalogue, licensed CC BY 4.0.