A fifth-generation series of polar orbiting environmental satellites that provide an uninterrupted flow of global environmental information. The satellites were launched on 13 May 1998 (NOAA-15), 21 September 2000 (NOAA-16), 24 June 2002 (NOAA-127), 20 May 2005 (NOAA-18), and 6 February 2009 (NOAA-19).