Curtailed Operations: NOAA's Polar Satellites Bring Their Mission to a Close

Curtailed Operations: NOAA's Polar Satellites Bring Their Mission to a Close

With the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) bidding adieu to its fleet of Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES), radio enthusiasts find themselves at a crossroads. For over four decades, these satellites have graced our skies, providing a wealth of environmental data and stunning Earth images that hobbyists have enjoyed decoding with their homemade antennas. But alas, all good things must come to an end.

But there's no need to despair just yet. Despite NOAA's decision to retire the remaining operational POES satellites by June 16th, at least two remaining birds will continue to broadcast publicly accessible imagery for the foreseeable future.

In early 2023, NOAA announced its plans to stop actively maintaining the three remaining operational POES satellites: NOAA-15, NOAA-18, and NOAA-19. The agency clarified that these satellites were considered "data of opportunity" rather than a reliable source of information. However, it seems that things took a turn for the worse when NOAA sent out an update in April, stating that data delivery would be terminated on June 16th, and that users should switch over to other sources. This news certainly sounded like the end of amateur reception of images from these prized satellites.

But fear not! Carl Reinemann, an avid radio hobbyist and operator of the popular SDR-focused website USRadioguy.com, reached out to NOAA's Office of Satellite and Product Operations for clarification. It was explained that the intent of the notice was not to shut down the data transmission entirely, but rather to inform the public that NOAA would no longer be using or disseminating any of the data collected by the POES satellites. In other words, NOAA-15, NOAA-18, and NOAA-19 are free to beam Earth images down to anyone who cares to listen, but when they stop working, it's anybody's guess what will happen to them.

Interestingly enough, the story took a turn for the worse when NOAA-15's S-band radio suffered some sort of failure in late May, causing its output power to plummet. This significant degradation not only made reception by hobbyists more challenging but even ground stations struggled to decipher any useful data. To make matters even more dire, the faulty radio was also the only one that could receive commands from the ground. Concerned that they might lose control of the satellite entirely, ground controllers quickly made the decision to decommission NOAA-18 on June 6th.

As it turns out, the fate of these spacecraft is not uncharted territory. In recent years, four similar spacecraft, colloquially referred to as the "Big Four," have suffered a similar fate. The most likely cause is a violent rupture of the craft's Ni-Cd battery pack due to extreme overcharging. The decommissioning process instead tries to render the spacecraft as inert as possible, disconnecting all batteries from their chargers, and venting any remaining propellant into space.

While there are no immediate plans to decommission NOAA-15 and 19, it's evident that the writing is on the wall. But there's no need to shed a tear just yet. The Russian weather satellites, specifically the Meteor-M series, will continue to serve as a dependable alternative. The latest additions to this fleet, Meteor-M 2-3 and Meteor-M 2-4, have been operational since June 2023 and early 2025, respectively, broadcasting Low-Rate Picture Transmission (LRPT) signals around 137 MHz. These birds part of a series designed to provide global weather observation and environmental monitoring from polar orbit, will ensure continuity of coverage and frequent revisit times for hobbyists to indulge in for years to come.

1. Radio enthusiasts can find solace in the continued broadcast of publicly accessible imagery from at least two remaining Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES), despite NOAA's decision to retire the operational ones.
2. Open source technology can potentially aid in the deciphering of data from the failing S-band radio on NOAA-15, as hobbyists strive to listen and decode Earth images effectively.
3. Environmental science, space-and-astronomy enthusiasts can look forward to an alternative source for satellite imagery with the operational Meteor-M series from Russia, providing global weather observation and environmental monitoring from polar orbit.

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