The NOAA-N spacecraft launched atop a Boeing Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
California at 3:22 a.m. pacific time. on May 20. 2005.
NOAA-N is a polar-orbiting satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
NOAA-N will collect information about Earth's atmosphere and environment to improve weather prediction and climate research across the globe.
NOAA-N is the 15th in a series of polar-orbiting satellites dating back to 1978.
but it is the first to be part of a joint cooperation project with
the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites. or EUMESTAT.