History of meteorology from space

1959	Launch of NASA's Vanguard II, which returned the first photograph from space of Earth's cloud cover
1960	NASA launched the Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS) I, which proved that satellites can observe Earth's weather patterns. Subsequent TIROS satellites improved hurricane-tracking techniques and severe storm warnings, protecting lives and property in coastal areas around the world.
1964	Satellite cloud pictures are used operationally at Met Office HQ in Bracknell.
1966	US Environmental Sciences Services Administration I and II give the world's first global weather satellite system.
1975	The satellites SMS-A, the first spacecraft to observe Earth from geosynchronous orbit, and SMS-B started producing cloud-cover pictures every 30 minutes for weather forecasters.
1977	ESA's Meteosat 1 launched.
1978	Seasat demonstrated techniques for global monitoring of Earth's oceans.
	Nimbus 7 was launched, carrying a TOMS instrument that provided 14 years of data on Earth's ozone layer. Data from TOMS were part of the scientific basis for treaties banning the manufacture and use of ozone-depleting chemicals.
1981	Meteosat-2 launched, the first fully operational Meteosat launched. Although an ESA satellite, EUMETSAT took control of its operations in 1986.
1984	The Earth Radiation Budget Satellite began its study of how Earth absorbs and reflects the Sun's energy.
1988	Meteosat-3 launched, again an ESA satellite operated by EUMETSAT
1989	EUMETSAT's Meteosat-4 launched, marking the beginning of the EUMETSAT Meteosat Operational Programme (MOP)
1991	Respectively launched in 1991 and 1995, the ERS-1 and ERS-2 satellites for earth observation are an ESA success. Thanks to the quality, reliability and originality of the on-board instruments, many findings related to the Earth environment have been made and many applications derived from them. Meteosat-5, the second MOP satellite launched
1992	Data from the US-French TOPEX/Poseidon satellite began to detail the links between Earth's oceans and climate. By 1994, TOPEX data indicated that Earth's average global sea level had risen in the two previous years.
1993	Meteosat-6, the third and final MOP satellite
1997	Meteosat-7, the only satellite of the EUMETSAT Meteosat Transition Programme (MTP), launched to maintain operations until the first Meteosat Second Generation satellite (MSG-1) is launched in 2002
1999	QuikScat, a satellite mission to monitor ocean winds, was launched.
2001	Jason 1 satellite launched as a successor to the TOPEX/Poseidon ocean surface topography mission.
2002	ESA's Envisat launched, an advanced polar-orbiting Earth observation satellite, which will provide measurements of the atmosphere, ocean, land, and ice over a five-year period. Envisat data will support Earth science research and allow monitoring of the evolution of environmental and climatic changes.
	Meteosat-8, the first of the second generation MSG satellites launched.
2005	Polar ice mission Cryosat launch failure.
	Meteosat-9, the second of the second generation Meteosat satellites launched. This brings the extra functionality of the MSG series into the operational domain.