Track NOAA & Meteor weather satellites live
Every forecast starts in orbit. Cosmik tracks the polar weather satellites live in 3D and gives you the next pass over your location — essential if you decode their 137 MHz imagery. Open the live sky view →
The low-flying weather satellites sweep the whole planet from about 800–850 km up, and several broadcast their images in the open on 137 MHz — which is why weather-satellite reception is one of the most popular DIY radio hobbies. Here's what's overhead now, and what you can still receive.
Meteor-M2 — the birds still transmitting
With NOAA's APT service retired (see below), the Russian Meteor-M2 satellites are now the workhorses for home reception, sending LRPT digital imagery around 137 MHz. Track each one live:
- Meteor-M2 — the original, launched 2014.
- Meteor-M2-2 — launched 2019.
- Meteor-M2-3 — launched 2023.
- Meteor-M2-4 — the newest, launched 2024.
NOAA-15, 18 & 19 — decommissioned in 2025
For decades, the NOAA polar orbiters broadcast free 137 MHz APT weather images that anyone could receive. That era ended in 2025: all three were decommissioned and their transmitters switched off. They remain in orbit — you can still see exactly where they are — but they no longer transmit.
- NOAA-19 (NORAD 33591) — decommissioned 13 August 2025. See its live position →
- NOAA-18 (NORAD 28654) — decommissioned 6 June 2025. See its live position →
- NOAA-15 (NORAD 25338) — decommissioned 19 August 2025. See its live position →
GOES & the geostationary fleet
The GOES satellitessit 35,786 km up in geostationary orbit, staring at the same hemisphere around the clock — that's where live hurricane and cloud-loop imagery comes from. See our full NOAA & GOES weather-satellite overview for the whole fleet.
How to receive weather satellite images
- Receiver: a cheap RTL-SDR dongle tuned to 137 MHz.
- Antenna: a right-hand circularly-polarised 137 MHz antenna — a quadrifilar helix (QFH) or a turnstile.
- Software: SatDump (or similar) to decode the Meteor-M2 LRPT stream into images.
- Timing: passes last ~10–15 minutes. Cosmik gives you the exact rise time, peak elevation and direction so you know when to record.
Track more
Browse the full satellite tracker for 700+ objects, tune in the amateur radio satellites you can work with similar gear, or read how to track satellites live.
