Satellites: Polar Orbiting Satellites

Polar orbiting satellites such as this one, Suomi-NPP, orbit the Earth in an almost north-south orbit, passing close to both poles. These satellites have an altitude about 700-800 km above the Earth's surface. Suomi completes 15 orbits in one 24 hour day. This enables the craft to obtain data for the entire globe each day. The red grid light shows the approximate surface area covered by the VIIRS instrument onboard the satellite.