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Please note: Due to browser FTP deprecation, users will no longer be able to access NCEI data via browser FTP clients. Users may access data via NCEI Web Accessible Folders and/or FTP client supported applications. We apologize for any inconvenience. See this document as reference. 

Satellite Data

Image of the NPP Satellite

Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite (S-NPP) orbiting above the Earth (artist's rendition).

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) manages a constellation of geostationary and polar-orbiting meteorological spacecrafts. These satellites are distributed among three operational programs: the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Program (GOES), and the Polar Operational Environmental Satellite Program (POES). The U.S. Department of Defense operates the satellites of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and NCEI archives and distributes the data under the Shared Processing Program.

Geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites provide raw radiance data that are collected by ground stations and archived by NCEI. These continuous global environmental observations are then derived to produce various geophysical variables that help to describe the Earth's atmospheric, oceanic, and terrestrial domains.

Geostationary satellites help monitor and predict weather and environmental events including tropical systems, tornadoes, flash floods, dust storms, volcanic eruptions, and forest fires. Polar-orbiting satellites collect data for weather, climate, and environmental monitoring applications including precipitation, sea surface temperatures, atmospheric temperature and humidity, sea ice extent, forest fires, volcanic eruptions, global vegetation analysis, as well as search and rescue. NOAA's satellite data improve the Nation's resilience to climate variability, maintain our economic vitality, and improve the security and well-being of the public.