\<COLOUR 1> COMMENTS: \<COLOUR 0> The first of a new generation of weather satellites providing high-resolution day and night cloud cover observations from an advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR), vertical atmospheric sounding, and data collection from automatic weather platforms; near- identical satellites are named NOAA 6 (launched June 27, 1979) and NOAA 7 (June 23, 1981) in orbit; NOAA stands for the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.