NOAA 6
Country: United States · Also known as: 1979-057A
Live Position
Ground Track · Last 90 Minutes
Upcoming Passes · Over Your Location
About This Satellite
NOAA-6 launched on June 27, 1979 for operational weather observation, with an additional space-weather role. Its payload combined the AVHRR imager, infrared and microwave sounding instruments, particle detectors, and the Argos data collection system. These instruments measured different aspects of the environment; they were not interchangeable cameras.
Weather images were only part of the payload
WMO lists HIRS/2, MSU, and SSU alongside AVHRR, and identifies the MEPED and TED particle detectors. The instrument list matters when looking for historical observations: atmospheric sounding, imagery, and particle measurements belong to different products. Finding a cloud image does not mean the accompanying space-weather measurements are included in that image file.
A receiving station could obtain different kinds of broadcasts
WMO distinguishes full-information HRPT from reduced-image-resolution APT and low-bit-rate beacon data. Those were historical downlink options, not current services from this retired satellite. WMO records its end of operation on March 31, 1987; an orbit shown today does not mean its weather instruments are transmitting.
Mission reference: WMO OSCAR: NOAA-6 payload, downlinks and operational history. Editorial review: .
The AVHRR archive ends before the spacecraft operational record
NOAA CLASS lists NOAA-6 AVHRR data availability from June 30, 1979 through March 4, 1983, and warns that actual coverage varies by datatype and may contain gaps. This archive interval is different from WMO's later operational endpoint. Select the required product and inspect its timestamps rather than treating an archive table as a complete mission chronology. CLASS also distinguishes reduced-resolution GAC from recorded LAC and real-time HRPT.
Reference: NOAA CLASS: NOAA-6 archive interval, coverage caveats and AVHRR product types.
A climate record needs calibration across spacecraft
NOAA NCEI's NASA AVHRR radiance record includes visible-band gains and offsets for NOAA-6 and other platforms. These convert pixel counts in Global Area Coverage data into radiance values. The multi-satellite record extends from 1978 to 2016; that is not NOAA-6's individual lifetime. Comparing raw image brightness across decades without the relevant calibration would mix changes in the measured environment with differences in the measurement systems.
Reference: NOAA NCEI: NASA AVHRR radiance climate record and calibration coefficients.
Reading this orbital snapshot
Based on TLE epoch: 2026-09-05. Estimated altitude ranges from 766 km at perigee to 781 km at apogee, a difference of 15 km. The orbital period is about 100.3 minutes. Eccentricity 0.00104 indicates a nearly circular path. In a two-body approximation, perigee speed is 1.00 times apogee speed. These are mean-element estimates, not instantaneous measurements. Distance per orbit uses an ellipse approximation.
Saved build snapshot. If a valid TLE is retrieved, this explanation and the orbit panel update together. Otherwise this dated snapshot is retained.
Ground track is not sensor coverage
An inclination of 98.56 degrees implies approximate geocentric ground-track limits of 81.4 degrees north and south. This is a retrograde orbit, moving against the direction of Earth rotation. The plotted line marks the point beneath the object. It does not represent camera coverage, radio reception, or a guaranteed visible pass.
Accuracy and missing information
The introductory record describes the build snapshot. The orbital snapshot explanation and orbit panel share any successfully retrieved TLE; check the displayed epoch. Reentered objects retain historical data only. Mission history is not rewritten by TLE updates. TLE/SGP4 positions are predictions and can change after maneuvers or updated observations. The 14-day stale-data cutoff is a display safeguard, not an accuracy guarantee. Local passes are geometric predictions, not a visibility forecast. No verified operator or mission status means unknown, not active. Do not use this catalog for collision avoidance or operational flight decisions.
Catalog sources: CelesTrak SATCAT: NORAD 11416 · GCAT: S11416 (source update 2026 Sep 4 2345:57). Supplementary metadata: SatNOGS DB, retrieved 2026-09-05T12:57:25.375Z. Page assembled 2026-09-15. GCAT phase codes describe trajectory phases, not mission health.
Learn more: TLE data · Perigee and apogee · Ground tracks · JOT (Jewawud Live Orbital Map)