The Advanced Next-generation Television and InfraRed Operational Satellites (TIROS - NOAA 8-17), or simply NOAA Satellites, are a primary source of space-based meteorological and climate data and are used for weather forecasting, climate monitoring, and other environmental applications such as fire detection, ozone monitoring, and sea surface temperature measurements.
The primary objective of the Advanced TIROS-N program was to improve on the capabilities and instrumentation of the TIROS-N operational satellites. These improvements consisted of adding instrument capacity to the satellite by making it slightly larger, then adding new instrument systems incrementally starting with NOAA-8. On May 13, 1998, a new series of operational environmental satellites began with the launch of NOAA-K now known as NOAA-15. These new satellites carry a series of instruments which have been modified and improved from previous NOAA-series satellites still in orbit and operational.
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