Uploaded February 2022 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
NOAA held a media briefing to demonstrate the Office of Space Commerce's Open-Architecture Data Repository (OADR). The OADR is designed to automate data management and advance the development of Space Situational Awareness capabilities to reduce the operational risk to the U.S. Space industry.
NOAA held a media briefing to demonstrate the Office of Space Commerce's Open-Architecture Data Repository (OADR). The OADR is designed to automate data management and advance the development of Space Situational Awareness capabilities to reduce the operational risk to the U.S. Space industry.
![NOAA Confirms Fourth Global Coral Bleaching Event
The world is currently experiencing a global coral bleaching event, according to NOAA scientists. This is the fourth global event on record and the second in the last 10 years.
Bleaching-level heat stress, as remotely monitored and predicted by NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch (CRW), has been—and continues to be—extensive across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean basins. CRWs heat-stress monitoring is based on sea surface temperature data, spanning 1985 to the present, from a blend of NOAA and partner satellites.
Credits:
NOAA
NASA
CIRA
Coral reef footage courtesy of NOAA Fisheries.
Cheeca Rocks photos courtesy of Andrew Ibarra/NOAA
US Virgin Island Boulder Coral photos courtesy of Leslie Henderson/NOAA
Music: “Shimmer Oscillations” by James Joshua Otto [PRS]; Atmosphere; Universal Production Music NOAA Confirms Fourth Global Coral Bleaching Event](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Xi9uFA3-cDE/mqdefault.jpg)







![NOAA-21 is Operational
NOAA-21 is now fully operational in NOAA’s fleet of polar-orbiting satellites that provide critical data to improve the accuracy of 3-to-7 day weather forecasts – including extreme weather events – and monitor climate change.
The newest satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) constellation, NOAA-21 launched on November 10, 2022, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, joining NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP in orbit. NOAA-21 is flying half an orbit, or 50 minutes, ahead of NOAA-20, with Suomi NPP between them. Each orbit the Earth from the North to the South Pole 14 times a day, providing complete global data coverage twice daily. These satellites take measurements and images that help monitor hurricanes, snowstorms, floods, wildfires, and also the ozone layer.
Learn more:
https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/noaa-21-operational
Credits:
NOAA
NASA
Music: “A New Story” by Paul Louis Reeves, Atmosphere Music LTD [UPM]; Volta Music; Universal Production Music NOAA-21 is Operational](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yvo837K89w4/mqdefault.jpg)
![Hurricane Otis Causes Catastrophic Damage in Acapulco, Mexico
On Wednesday, Oct. 25, Hurricane Otis made landfall near Acapulco, on Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, at 1:25 a.m. CDT as a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 165 mph. The storm had rapidly intensified off the coast, and according to the National Hurricane Center, Otis was the strongest hurricane in the Eastern Pacific to make landfall in the satellite era.
Because the storm intensified so quickly, with wind speeds increasing by 115 mph within 24 hours, the more than one million people living in and around the city had very little time to prepare for the monster storm ahead of landfall. Only one other storm on record, Hurricane Patricia in 2015, exceeded Otis’ rapid intensification in the Eastern Pacific, with a 120-mph increase in 24 hours.
Credits:
NOAA
NASA
CIRA
Music: “Dark Mist” by Benson Taylor [PRS]; A Remarkable Idea; Universal Production Music Hurricane Otis Causes Catastrophic Damage in Acapulco, Mexico](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yxsrcoy0Kok/mqdefault.jpg)
![Lightning Safety
Lightning is a dangerous weather hazard that poses a significant threat to life and property. It can strike at any time, but is most common in the summer months.
For National Lightning Safety Awareness Week (June 22-28, 2025), NOAA is highlighting the capabilities of its Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) instrument onboard the GOES-18 (GOES West) and GOES-19 (GOES East) satellites.
Learn more:
https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/lightning-safety-awareness-week-detecting-lightning-space
Credits:
NOAA
NASA
Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University
LightningCast imagery courtesy of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) at the University of Wisonsin-Madison.
Music:
“In The Frame” by Aaron Frederick Lazlo Wheeler [PRS]; Abbey Road Masters; Universal Production Music Lightning Safety](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Z9TY4fWqmGg/mqdefault.jpg)