Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

NOAA deploys aircraft to support weather satellite data validation project

NOAA deployed one of the agency's two Lockheed WP-3D Orion "hurricane hunter" aircraft (N42RF) to Shannon, Ireland on Jan. 23 to support an ongoing NOAA Satellite and Information Service project to measure ocean surface winds in winter storms over the North Atlantic. The project helps NOAA calibrate and validate data collected by weather satellite sensors. The project also helps scientists and engineers improve the quality and consistency of satellite-based weather data. This is the third year that NOAA has conducted this project from Ireland. The aircraft is based at the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center in Lakeland, Florida.