The satellite was launched in a south-southwesterly direction, soaring over the Pacific Ocean at sunset as it ascended into Earth orbit. JPL Built in record time in just 12 months, QuikScat will provide climatologists, meteorologists and oceanographers with daily, detailed snapshots of ocean winds as they swirl above the world's oceans. It will be used to better understand global weather abnormalities and to generally improve weather forecasting.
Winds play a major role in every aspect of weather on Earth.
They directly affect the turbulent exchanges of heat, moisture and greenhouse gases between Earth's atmosphere and the ocean. QuikScat will be able to track changes in the trade winds along the equator. El Ni o because the satellite's altimeter measures the changing sea-surface height with unprecedented precision. QuikScat will be able to track changes in the trade winds along the equator and, thus, complement data from NASA's other Earth-watching satellites. The instrument senses ripples caused by winds near the ocean's surface, from which scientists can compute the winds' speed and direction.