Intro music.
The latest polar-orbiting satellite in the TIROS-N fleet is set for launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket.
Dubbed NOAA-N, the satellite was jointly developed by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
known as NOAA, to expand environmental observations of Earth.
TIROS, or Television Infrared Observation Satellites, have been observing our planet from the perspective of a polar orbit since 1978.
"NOAA-N is a single satellite, but it's part of a constellation of satellites that are in the polar-orbiting system,
and NOAA uses two of these satellites as their main operational satellites.
And data from two of these satellites cover the entire globe, the whole Earth, at least four times a day."
These satellites provide NOAA constant data about our environment and weather,
and make other observations like cloud cover and sea surface temperature.
The launch of NOAA-N will help continue this flow of vital data about the surface and atmosphere of our planet.