QuikSCAT
 QuikSCAT | |
| Organization | JPL, NASA |
|---|---|
| Mission Type | Earth observation |
| Contractor | Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. |
| Satellite of | Earth |
| Launch | June 19, 1999 on a Titan II |
| Launch site | Vandenberg Air Force Base |
| Mission duration | 2–3 years |
| Mass | 971 kg (launch) |
| Webpage | winds.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/quikscat/ |
| Orbital elements | |
| Semimajor Axis | 7180.8 km |
| Eccentricity | 0.00014 |
| Inclination | 98.6 degrees |
| Orbital Period | 100.93 minutes |
| Right ascension of the ascending node | 178.47 degrees |
| Argument of perigee | 47.4 degrees |
| Instruments | |
| SeaWinds | microwave radar that measures near-surface wind speed and direction |
The QuikSCAT (Quick Scatterometer) is an earth-observing satellite that provides wind speed and direction information over oceans to NOAA.It is a "quick recovery" mission to fill the gap created by the loss of data from the NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT) that was lost in June 1997. It is in a sun-synchronous low-earth orbit.
(NEEDS TO BE VERIFIED: In light of the 2003 failure of the ADEOS II satellite that was meant to succeed the NSCAT, QuickSCAT is currently the only instrument in orbit that allows us to measure surface winds over the oceans)
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