ESA - Living Planet Programme - MetOp - Orbit

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It takes about 100 minutes for MetOp to orbit Earth. During the time it takes to complete one orbit, Earth has rotated around 25°. This means observations are made over a different part of Earth in each orbit.

Different instruments have different swathe widths and therefore take different times to observe the entire planet. However, all of the instruments achieve global coverage within five days.

Credits: ESA /AOES Medialab

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The European MetOp satellite and the American NOAA satellite both fly in Sun-synchronous, low-Earth, polar orbits. However, MetOp is responsible for the morning orbit by passing over the Equator (descending node) at 09.30 local time each orbit, whilst the NOAA satellite occupies the afternoon orbit by passing over the Equator (ascending node) at 14.30 local time each orbit. Together, these two orbits maximise the coverage over which the observations are made.

Credits: ESA - AOES Medialab

Last update: 3 April 2012