# NOAA-15

> American weather satellite

**Wikidata**: [Q6954799](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6954799)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOAA-15)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/noaa-15

## Summary
NOAA-15 is an American weather satellite in the Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) constellation, built on the Advanced TIROS-N design and operated by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It was launched on 1998-05-13 and entered service on 1998-12-15; it was retired on 2025-08-19 UTC.

## Key Facts
- NOAA-15 is an American weather satellite (instance_of: weather satellite) and a subclass of Advanced TIROS-N.  
- Operator: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  
- Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin.  
- Launch date and time: 1998-05-13 at 15:52:04 UTC.  
- Launch vehicle: Titan 23G (vehicle variant recorded as 23G-12).  
- Launch site: Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 4 West.  
- COSPAR ID / NSSDCA ID: 1998-030A.  
- Mass at takeoff (launch mass): 2232 kg; dry mass: 1479 kg.  
- Orbit type: Sun-synchronous orbit.  
- Service entry: 1998-12-15 UTC. Service retirement: 2025-08-19 at 15:28 UTC.  
- Part of: Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) constellation.  
- Followed/follows: follows NOAA-14; followed_by NOAA-16.  
- Alias: NOAA-K.  
- Power: powered by a photovoltaic system (value recorded: 833).  
- IDs and catalog: scn 25338; freebase id /m/02qs7zv; commons category "NOAA 15".  
- Country of origin: United States.

## FAQs
### Q: What is NOAA-15?
A: NOAA-15 is a U.S. meteorological (weather) satellite built on the Advanced TIROS-N design and operated by NOAA as part of the Polar Operational Environmental Satellites constellation.

### Q: When and how was NOAA-15 launched?
A: NOAA-15 was launched on 1998-05-13 at 15:52:04 UTC from Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 4 West aboard a Titan 23G launch vehicle (variant 23G-12).

### Q: How long was NOAA-15 in service?
A: NOAA-15 entered service on 1998-12-15 UTC and was retired on 2025-08-19 at 15:28 UTC.

### Q: Who built and operates NOAA-15?
A: The satellite was manufactured by Lockheed Martin and operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

## Why It Matters
NOAA-15 served as an operational polar-orbiting meteorological satellite within NOAA’s long-running Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) program. Built on the Advanced TIROS-N platform and deployed into a sun-synchronous orbit, NOAA-15 provided routine global environmental and weather observations useful for forecasting, climate monitoring, and environmental research. Its design and instrumentation were part of a series of satellites that delivered consistent, long-term data continuity for polar-orbit observations. Operated by NOAA and manufactured by Lockheed Martin, NOAA-15 contributed to operational weather services for governments and forecasters by supplying imagery and atmospheric measurements from a sun-synchronous vantage point. Its long operational lifespan (service entry in December 1998 and retirement in August 2025) underscored its role in sustaining decades-long datasets for weather prediction and Earth observation.

## Notable For
- Being an Advanced TIROS-N series satellite deployed as part of NOAA’s Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES).  
- Long operational tenure with service entry on 1998-12-15 and retirement on 2025-08-19.  
- Launch from Vandenberg SLC-4W on 1998-05-13 using a Titan 23G (23G-12) vehicle.  
- Dual mass specifications recorded: launch mass 2232 kg and dry mass 1479 kg.  
- Catalog and archive identifiers: COSPAR/NSSDCA 1998-030A and scn 25338.

## Body

### Identification and classification
- Name: NOAA-15 (alias NOAA-K).  
- Instance_of: weather satellite.  
- Subclass_of: Advanced TIROS-N.  
- Part_of: Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) constellation.  
- Country_of_origin: United States.

### Mission timeline
- Launch: 1998-05-13 at 15:52:04 UTC.  
- Launch site: Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 4 West.  
- Launch vehicle: Titan 23G (variant 23G-12).  
- Service entry (operational start): 1998-12-15 UTC.  
- Service retirement: 2025-08-19 at 15:28 UTC.  
- Significant event recorded: rocket launch from Vandenberg SLC-4W on 1998-05-13.

### Technical specifications
- Launch mass (takeoff): 2232 kg.  
- Dry mass: 1479 kg.  
- Power: photovoltaic system (value recorded: 833).  
- Orbit type: Sun-synchronous orbit (polar).  
- Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin.  
- Operator: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

### Relationships and sequence
- Follows: NOAA-14.  
- Followed by: NOAA-16.  
- Constellation membership: Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES).  
- Class/lineage: Advanced TIROS-N meteorological satellite family.

### Identifiers and archives
- COSPAR ID: 1998-030A.  
- NSSDCA ID: 1998-030A.  
- Spacecraft number (scn): 25338.  
- Freebase ID: /m/02qs7zv.  
- Commons image reference: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/NOAA-M.jpg.  
- Commons category: NOAA 15.

## Schema Markup
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{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Thing",
  "name": "NOAA-15",
  "description": "NOAA-15 is an American weather satellite in the Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) constellation, launched in 1998 and operated by NOAA.",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOAA-15"
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  "additionalType": "weather satellite"
}

## References

1. Jonathan's Space Report
2. [Source](http://planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt)
3. [Source](https://www.wmo-sat.info/oscar/satellites/view/337)