What Is a Polar Orbit?

An artificial earth satellite orbit with an angle of 90 ° between the orbital plane and the equatorial plane. Artificial satellites can reach the North and South Arctic regions when they are operating, that is, the satellites can fly over the world. Meteorological satellites, navigation satellites, earth resource satellites, etc. that need to be observed and applied on a global scale all adopt this orbit.

Polar orbit

The angle between the orbital plane and the equatorial plane is 90 °

Polar satellites are also called "polar orbit satellites", which mainly refer to near-earth geostationary satellites that use near-polar solar synchronous orbits, satellite orbit planes, and solar rays to maintain a fixed angle of intersection. Such satellites are generally hundreds of kilometers from the ground, closer to the ground than geosynchronous satellites, so the resolution of the images taken is higher.

September 7, 1988, at

Russian Federal Space Agency announced on the 19th that Europe's first earth polar orbit weather satellite

After several delayed launches, MetOp-A finally successfully launched from the Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan.

The launch of MetOp-A can be described as twists and turns. According to the plan, this satellite was supposed to be launched on July 17, 2006. Due to failures of the inertial navigation system, the launch was postponed to October 7. During the final preparations for the launch in early October, staff accidentally slipped a few centimeters of the rocket-equipped rocket's fourth-level capsule, and the launch was postponed a second time. On October 17, two seconds before the third launch, due to an abnormality, the launch countdown automatically stopped, and the third launch of MetOp-A was postponed. MetOp-A weighs about 4 tons and is 6.5 meters high. It is the first of three similar series of MetOp meteorological satellites jointly developed by the European Space Agency and the European Meteorological Satellite Organization, and the first polar orbiting meteorological satellite launched in Europe. . Its mission is to run along a polar orbit about 817 kilometers above the ground, collect and return high-precision meteorological and other relevant data to the ground for experts to analyze the air humidity, temperature, melting snow and greenhouse gas emissions. ^[1]

With the launch of a NASA satellite launching data to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on the morning of October 28, climate and weather researchers are finally relieved. The artificial satellite, called the National Polar Orbiting Environment Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP), was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California at 2:48 a.m. local time, breaking a series of failed launch records before Both Earth observation satellites fell to Earth.

NPP launches from Vandenberg Space Base, California (3sNews with photo)

NPP carries five scientific instruments designed to help researchers track a wide range of information from the ozone layer to the ice sheet and help them develop long-term and short-term forecasting methods. It should also test the technology involved in NOAA's outstanding Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), a multi-spacecraft system that has been plagued by technical delays and budget issues. The first JPSS spacecraft will be launched as early as 2016 or 2017, and this $ 12 billion project has been extensively reviewed by budget lawmakers.

NOAA director Jane Lubchenco warned that withholding JPSS funds would result in scientists having fewer tools to gather important data, and she spoke of the need for new satellites with the launch of NPP as an opportunity. Lubchenco said in a statement: "This year has been written into history because of bad weather. The need to improve data through NPP and next-generation satellite systems ... has never been more urgent."

The NPP, originally planned for launch in 2006, cost $ 1.5 billion, representing a rare bright spot in the field of Earth observation in the United States. In 2009, an orbiting carbon observation satellite designed by NASA to monitor carbon dioxide levels fell to Earth after the failure of a rocket, and another similar accident destroyed NASA's "honor", a satellite designed to monitor atmospheric chemicals .

NPP is expected to work for at least 5 years. The mission of the satellite has two main purposes, one is to predict short-term changes in weather and extreme weather conditions; the other is to track changes in the atmosphere, volcanic ash, fire and Arctic ice melting, and to help scientists carry out long-term research such as climate warming. ^[2]

Geosynchronous satellites are divided into geostationary orbit geostationary satellites, inclined orbit synchronous satellites, and polar orbit synchronous satellites.

The oblique orbit and polar orbiting satellites are mobile from the earth, but they can pass through specific areas every day. Therefore, they are usually used for scientific research, meteorological or military information collection, and for communication in polar regions and high latitudes.