Joint Polar Satellite System: The United States next generation civilian polar‐orbiting environmental satellite system

Abstract

Abstract NOAA's next generation polar‐orbiting environmental satellite system, designated as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), was proposed in February 2010, as part of the President's Fiscal Year 2011 budget request, to be the Civilian successor to the restructured National Polar‐Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). Beginning 1 October 2013, the JPSS baseline consists of a suite of five instruments: advanced microwave and infrared sounders critical for short‐ and medium‐range weather forecasting; an advanced visible and infrared imager needed for environmental assessments such as snow/ice cover, droughts, volcanic ash, forest fires and surface temperature; ozone sensor primarily used for global monitoring of ozone and input to weather and climate models; and an Earth radiation budget sensor for monitoring the Earth's energy budget. NASA will fund the Earth radiation budget sensor and the ozone limb sensor for the second JPSS operational satellite—JPSS‐2. JPSS is implemented through a partnership between NOAA and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NOAA is responsible for overall funding; maintaining the high‐level requirements; establishing international and interagency partnerships; developing the science and algorithms, and user engagement; NOAA also provides product data distribution and archiving of JPSS data. NASA's role is to serve as acquisition Center of Excellence, providing acquisition of instruments, spacecraft and the multimission ground system, and early mission implementation through turnover to NOAA for operations.