NOAA 18
Country: United States
Live Position
Ground Track · Last 90 Minutes
Upcoming Passes · Over Your Location
About This Satellite
NOAA-18 was a POES weather spacecraft. NOAA reports that it was passivated on June 6, 2025, following loss of transmitter functionality. It should not be presented as broadcasting live APT weather images today.
Mission context
A satellite catalog and a radio-reception guide answer different questions. A catalog may continue to publish orbital data after the transmitter has stopped. Finding NOAA-18 above the horizon therefore does not establish that a weather signal can be received.
What to notice in this record
Read the dated orbital snapshot separately from the mission-status note. In particular, the launch date, TLE epoch, and retirement date describe three different events and must not be substituted for one another.
Mission reference: NOAA: POES retirement. Editorial review: .
Reading this orbital snapshot
Based on TLE epoch: 2026-09-05. Estimated altitude ranges from 837 km at perigee to 856 km at apogee, a difference of 19 km. The orbital period is about 101.9 minutes. Eccentricity 0.00132 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 98.81 degrees implies approximate geocentric ground-track limits of 81.2 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 28654 · GCAT: S28654 (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)