Joint Polar Satellite System-1

The next polar-orbiting weather sat

The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1), now known as NOAA-20, will collect critical data for civil and military weather-forecasting, storm tracking and climate-monitoring, above and beyond what’s available today.

Data and imagery from JPSS will save lives and protect property by increasing the timeliness and accuracy of weather event warnings and forecasts. The National Weather Service will feed JPSS data into models used for long-term weather forecasting, allowing scientists and forecasters to monitor and predict weather patterns with greater speed and accuracy. JPSS is also key for the continuity of long-term climate measurements, following the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership spacecraft now on orbit, which we also built and integrated.

JPSS-1 Successfully Launched Nov. 18! Click here for a hi-res image of launch.

JPSS will fly a suite of advanced remote sensing instruments:

The Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)
The Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS)
The Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS)
The Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS)- Nadir
The Clouds and the Earth Radiant Energy System (CERES)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) manages JPSS satellites and instruments. NASA is the JPSS acquisition lead.

What we’re doing

Spacecraft & Instrument Provider, Integration & Test Lead

Our job was to design and build the JPSS-1 satellite bus, the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) instrument, integrate all instruments, and perform satellite-level testing and launch support. All under contract to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

The JPSS-1 spacecraft is part of our Ball Configurable Platform line of spacecraft designed for cost-effective, remote sensing applications. The JPSS-1 spacecraft bus is the twelfth spacecraft built on our core architecture which has more than 50 years of successful on-orbit operations.