Latest U.S. weather satellite, set to scan storms like Nicole, launches

As Tropical Storm Nicole neared Florida on Wednesday, a satellite passed 512 miles overhead, scanning for data to help meteorologists understand what was happening beneath the clouds — and better predict what the storm would do next. On Thursday, on the other side of the United States, the satellite’s $1.4 billion successor rocketed into space. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched an Atlas V rocket carrying the JPSS-2 — the second of four satellites in a series known as the Joint Polar Satellite System — at 1:49 a.m. local time from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. More

(Source: The Washington Post - Nov 11)