The NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) program aimed to bridge the gap between old and new systems by flying new instruments on a satellite originally to be launched in 2005.

Interest in climate research through the use of satellites began in the 1960s and early 1970s through space probes studying other planets.

GOES is a constellation of satellites that monitors and forecasts weather for NOAA.

TRIMM, launched in 1997, carries five instruments which uses radar and sensors of visible infrared light to closely monitor precipitation.

Terra, launched in 1990, carries five instruments to observe the state of the atmosphere, land, and oceans, as well as their interactions with solar radiation and with one another.

SORCE, launched in 2003, monitors total output from the sun for understanding of earth's absorption of radiation energy.

Jason-2, launched in 2008, a Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM), is used to monitor the height of water of earth's ocean, which help understand weather patterns such as El Nino and formations of hurricanes.

Landsat-7, launched in 1999, takes digital images of earth's coastal areas with global coverage on a seasonal basis.

LAGEOS 1 launched in 1976, LAGEOS 2, launched in 1992 used for orbiting benchmark for geodynamical studies.

Jason-1, launched in 2001, uses microwaves to monitor the height of water of earth's oceans.

ICESat, launched in 2003, keeps track of size and thickness of earth's ice sheetes.

GRACE, launched in 2002, observes and measures earth's gravitational field, which may help determining the shape and composition of the planet's distribution of water and ice.

CloudSat, launched in 2006, monitors the state of earth's atmosphere and weather through radar, which can be used to predict which clouds produce rain, observe snowfall, and monitor the moisture content of clouds.

CALIPSO, launched in 2006, studies thickness of clouds and aerosols for understanding of how much air pollution is present and changes in compositions in the atmophere.

AURA, launched in 2004, studies earth's ozone, air quality, and climate though observation of composition, chemistry, and dynamics of the atmosphere.

AQUARIUS, launched in 2011, measures salt concentrations in ocean surface needed to understand heat transport and storage in the ocean.

Aqua, launched in 2002, carries six instruments to observe interactions among the four sphere's for earth's systems: oceans, land, atmosphere, and biosphere.

Terra is a multi-national, multi-disciplinary mission involving partnerships with the aerospace agencies of Canada and Japan.

Although Key West, Fl is the hottest city in the United States with an average temperature of 77.8, it has never had a day over 100˚.  It has also never experienced a recorded frost, sleet, or snow.

Of the top ten cities where thunderstorms occur, eight are located in Florida.

The Cassini probe passed by Venus twice, then Earth, and finally Jupiter on the way to Saturn. The 6.7-year transit was slightly longer than the six years needed for a Hohmann transfer, but cut the total amount of delta V needed to about 2 km/s, so that the large and heavy Cassini probe was able to reach Saturn even with the small boosters available.