The QuikSCAT satellite was launched in 1999 to measure wind speed and direction over the global oceans. It carried the SeaWinds scatterometer which used a rotating antenna to capture measurements across a wide swath from two beams. The satellite orbited at an altitude of 803 km with an inclination of 98.6 degrees, allowing it to sample over 90% of the oceans every 24 hours. The scatterometer measured radar backscatter from ocean surfaces under different wind conditions to retrieve wind data using observing geometry and roughness models.