UPDATE August 13 2025
NOAA 19 was decommissioned early as a result of a battery failure that occurred on August 9, 2025. This battery failure jeopardizes the ability to ensure safe operations of the spacecraft. Based on NOAA’s requirement to responsibly manage on-orbit assets, NOAA-19 was passivated on August 13, 2025 Rev 85130 at 1655 UTC. This decommission was performed less than 1 week from when the planned decommission was scheduled to take place. NOAA-15 planned decommission has been delayed to next week.
NOAA-19 is a legacy Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) satellite and is operated with no performance or latency requirements. Users should transition to NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). JPSS provides global observations that serve as the backbone of both short- and long-term forecasts, including those that help us predict and prepare for severe weather events. The five satellites scheduled in the fleet are the currently-flying NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite, NOAA-20, previously known as JPSS-1, NOAA-21, previously known as JPSS-2, and the upcoming JPSS-3 and JPSS-4 satellites.
UPDATE August 12, 2025 Due to an unexpected anomaly with the NOAA-19 satellite, the planned decommissioning of the NOAA-15 satellite has been postponed. The new timeframe for NOAA-15’s decommissioning is now scheduled for the week of August 18th, though the precise date within that week has not yet been determined.
UPDATE August 11, 2025 – This is the final reminder that NOAA-15 is scheduled to be decommissioned on August 12, 2025 from 1506 to 1520 UTC. NOAA-19 will follow one week later on August 19, 2025.
End of an Era: Decommissioning the Legacy POES Satellites
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has officially wrapped up End-of-Life (EOL) testing for NOAA-15 and NOAA-19, signaling the imminent decommissioning of these two venerable spacecraft. As the last operational platforms in the enduring NOAA Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) constellation, their retirement marks a significant transition.
Both satellites have far outlived their initial design lives, a testament to their robust engineering, but also a factor in their current state. They’ve experienced considerable degradation and outright failures across various critical subsystems and scientific instruments. These issues have pushed them into a “twilight phase,” where the likelihood of catastrophic failure modes is increasingly high.
It’s worth remembering that NOAA-18 was already decommissioned on June 6, 2025, at 17:40 UTC. That decision came after an unrecoverable anomaly with its S-Band transmitter, which completely halted its ability to send vital telemetry and mission data back to Earth.
The final decommissioning schedule for the remaining POES constellation assets is as follows:
NOAA-19: August 19, 2025
NOAA-15: August 12, 2025
A Legacy’s Sunset: The History and Decommissioning of NOAA-15, -18, and -19
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) constellation has served as a cornerstone of global weather forecasting and environmental monitoring for decades. As technology advances and the operational lifespan of these venerable spacecraft comes to a close, NOAA is progressively decommissioning the final members of this series. This marks a significant transition in NOAA’s satellite operations, as newer, more advanced systems like the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) assume primary roles.
Here’s a look at the history and decommissioning of NOAA-15, -18, and -19:
NOAA-15 (NOAA-K)
- Launch Date: May 13, 1998
- Mission: NOAA-15 was the first of the fifth generation of POES satellites, designed to provide critical data for weather forecasting, climate research, and search and rescue operations. It carried instruments such as the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR/3), and High-resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS/3), alongside a Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking (SARSAT) system. NOAA-15 was crucial for its morning orbit coverage, complementing the afternoon orbits of other POES satellites.
- Decommissioning: After an impressive 27 years in orbit, far exceeding its design life, NOAA-15 is scheduled to be decommissioned on August 12, 2025. It has experienced significant subsystem and instrument degradation, reaching a point where its continued operational use is no longer viable for critical applications.
NOAA-18 (NOAA-N)
- Launch Date: May 20, 2005
- Mission: NOAA-18 further enhanced the POES constellation with improved instruments, including an upgraded HIRS (HIRS/4) and the Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS), in addition to AMSU-A, AVHRR/3, and SARSAT. It operated in an afternoon orbit, providing vital data for global weather models and contributing to a wide range of environmental monitoring applications. For nearly 20 years, it collected global weather information, ensuring that every point on Earth was observed at least every 12 hours.
- Decommissioning: NOAA-18 was decommissioned earlier this year, on June 6, 2025, at 17:40 UTC. The decision was prompted by an unrecoverable failure of its S-Band transmitter, which was essential for both commanding the satellite and downlinking its global science data. This failure compromised the satellite’s ability to operate safely and effectively.
NOAA-19 (NOAA-N Prime)
- Launch Date: February 6, 2009
- Mission: NOAA-19 was the final satellite in the POES series and incorporated further instrument enhancements, including a fully integrated Advanced Data Collection System (A-DCS). Like NOAA-18, it occupied an afternoon orbit, contributing significantly to atmospheric temperature and humidity soundings, sea surface temperature measurements, and search and rescue support.
- Decommissioning: NOAA-19, the last operational satellite of the legacy POES constellation, is slated for decommissioning on August 19, 2025. Despite having provided over 16 years of valuable data, it has entered its “twilight phase” with increasing likelihood of critical failures across its aging subsystems and instruments.
The decommissioning of these satellites marks the end of a remarkable era for NOAA’s polar-orbiting capabilities. While their direct operational use will cease, NOAA continues to responsibly manage these orbital assets to mitigate space debris and ensure the long-term sustainability of space operations. The baton has now largely passed to the more technologically advanced JPSS constellation, which will continue NOAA’s vital mission of Earth observation from polar orbit.
Farewell to Faithful Watchers: Saying Goodbye to NOAA-15, -18, and -19
It’s truly the end of an era for Earth observation as we prepare to say goodbye to three long-serving sentinels: NOAA-15, NOAA-18, and NOAA-19. These polar-orbiting satellites have collectively provided decades of invaluable data, shaping our understanding of weather patterns, climate change, and environmental conditions.
They’ve tracked hurricanes, monitored sea ice, assisted in search and rescue operations, and contributed to countless weather forecasts we rely on daily here in the US, and across the globe.
While technology marches on and new, advanced satellites like the JPSS series take the reins, we can’t help but feel a sense of gratitude and nostalgia for these steadfast spacecraft. They represent a remarkable commitment to understanding and protecting our planet.
Thank you, NOAA-15, NOAA-18, and NOAA-19, for your years of dedicated service. Your legacy will continue to inform our future.
Why can’t you just leave these operational until they die. Leave them active for us amateur APT weather enthusiasts? It doesn’t cost to just let them run.
Well, not quite accurate, first they want to avoid what happened to NOAA 16 and 17, which resulted in the satellites exploding and generating thousands of pieces of orbital debris. Which is why all sats now are on a program to render them as inert as possible before that happens. And, it does cost quite a bit of money for command and control to run the satellites to keep them in the proper attitude, altitudes, positioning etc.