A ULA Delta II rocket 2nd stage will be mounted atop the 1st stage in preparation for JPSS-1 at VAFB, CA. Photos at https://flic.kr/s/aHskyZRGrf
#JPSS1, built by @BallAerospace, will increase the accuracy and timeliness of weather forecasts. #NASASocial http://www.ball.com/aerospace/programs/jpss-1
#JPSS1 will launch into a polar orbit from Vandenberg AFB on a @ulalaunch #DeltaII on Sept 21.
Numerous sites showing slip to NET Oct. 12
Quote from: gongora on 07/28/2017 01:34 amNumerous sites showing slip to NET Oct. 12That's quite a slip any reasons?
Now it's Nov 10, it's slipping like Falcon Heavy...
Launch of @NOAA's advanced Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1) scheduled for Nov. 10 at 1:47 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA.
NOAA’s JPSS-1 Satellite Arrives in California for LaunchPosted on September 5, 2017 at 2:29 pm by Anna Heiney.NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1) satellite arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Sept. 1, 2017, to begin preparations for a November launch.After its arrival, the JPSS-1 spacecraft was pulled from its shipping container, and is being prepared for encapsulation on top of the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will take it to its polar orbit at an altitude of 512 miles (824 km) above Earth. JPSS-1 is scheduled for launch from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex-2 on Nov. 10 at 1:47 a.m. PST.NOAA partnered with NASA to implement the JPSS series of U.S. civilian polar-orbiting environmental remote sensing satellites and sensors. JPSS-1 has a seven-year design life and is the first in a series of NOAA’s four next-generation, polar-orbiting weather satellites.For more information, please visit www.jpss.noaa.gov.
Above and below right: The Joint Polar Satellite System-1, or JPSS-1, arrives at the Astrotech Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. JPSS is the first in a series four next-generation environmental satellites in a collaborative program between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA. The satellite is scheduled to liftoff later this year atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. Photo credits: NASA/Randy Beaudoin
It has been a struggle to reach this point after several technical issues with the satellite kept it in Boulder nearly a year longer than planned.Launch dates came and went throughout this year while engineers worked through problems with one the weather instruments on the satellite, an onboard computer that was misbehaving and potentially defective capacitors inside the spacecraft that were called into question in an industry-wide alert issued in late June that was a last-minute curveball thrown at the team.An elusive issue with the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder instrument, dogging the mission for months, was creating noisy data on several of its channels when heaters were activated. Extensive testing was done to characterize the problem, ultimately requiring removal of the ATMS instrument from the satellite to isolate the cause. Finally, an intermittent cable short within the instrument was deemed the root cause, cable insulation was added and the instrument retested successfully.One by one, the issues were fixed, a number of suspect capacitors were pulled out and replaced with ones from a good batch, and JPSS 1 was cleared to ship to the launch site.Officials say a nominal launch processing flow has begun with some reserve days included, should any work take longer than planned.“The JPSS 1 team has done an incredible job getting this extremely capable satellite prepared for launch and ready to send back quality environmental data soon after it is in orbit,” said Stephen Volz, director of NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service.
The daily launch window lasts just 62 seconds, a tight requirement to sync up the JPSS 1 orbit with the aging Suomi NPP weather observatory that it will replace. Depending on launch day factors, liftoff could be re-targeted for the exact center of the window for optimal performance — at 1:47:35.328 a.m. local time.
30-day countdown to JPSS-1 launchGlobal data from new advanced polar satellite to improve U.S. weather forecastsOctober 11, 2017 The Joint Polar Satellite System-1, the first in a new series of highly advanced NOAA polar-orbiting satellites, is scheduled to lift off Nov. 10, at 1:47 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.“The new JPSS satellite will join GOES-16 as we are confronting one of the most tragic hurricane seasons in the past decade,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “The JPSS satellite system will provide advanced forecasting on not only hurricanes, but also dangerous weather events threatening communities across the United States.” The satellite, called JPSS-1, will provide meteorologists with a variety of observations, such as atmospheric temperature and moisture, sea-surface temperature, ocean color, sea ice cover, volcanic ash and fire detection. Forecasters will be able to use the data to better predict weather events and hazards, such as a hurricane’s track, and when a hurricane will intensify or weaken, as well as identifying power outages in addition to locating and evaluating damage following a storm.Circling the globe 14 times a dayJPSS-1, which will be known as NOAA-20 when it reaches polar orbit, will join the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP), a joint NOAA-NASA weather satellite, giving the U.S. the benefit of two, sophisticated polar satellites in the same orbit. Each will circle the globe 14 times a day, 50 minutes apart and provide full, global observations for U.S. weather prediction. After it successfully clears the on-orbit test phase, NOAA-20 will become the nation’s primary polar weather satellite and Suomi NPP will become its back up.“Having two advanced polar satellites in the same orbit will ensure our numerical weather models have the necessary, critical data to support forecasts up to seven days ahead of extreme weather events,” said Stephen Volz, Ph.D., director of NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service.“Eighty-five percent of the data flowing into our weather forecast models come from polar-orbiting satellites, such as Suomi NPP and the new JPSS series,“ said Louis W. Uccellini, Ph.D., director of NOAA’s National Weather Service. “Using polar satellite data, we have been able to provide emergency managers with more accurate forecasts, allowing them to pre-position equipment and resources days before a storm. JPSS will continue this trend.”Major UpgradeThe five next-generation instruments on JPSS will be a major upgrade from NOAA’s legacy polar-orbiting satellites. JPSS will provide more detailed information about atmospheric temperature and air moisture leading to more accurate near-term weather predictions. Over longer timescales, this data will help improve our understanding of climate patterns that influence the weather, such as El Nino and La Nina.The JPSS program is a partnership between NOAA and NASA that will oversee all the satellites in the series. NOAA funds and manages the program, operations and data products. NASA develops and builds the instruments, spacecraft and ground system and launches the satellites for NOAA.“The launch of JPSS-1 continues the strong, decades-long partnership between NOAA and NASA in developing state-of-the-art Earth observation satellites,” said Sandra Smalley, director of NASA’s Joint Agency Satellite Division. “We are proud to contribute to NOAA’s continued leadership in critical weather forecasting throughout the entire JPSS series.”Ball Aerospace designed and built the JPSS-1 satellite bus, and Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite instrument, integrated all five of the spacecraft’s instruments and performed satellite-level testing and launch support. Raytheon Corporation built the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite and the Common Ground System. Harris Corporation built the Cross-track Infrared Sounder. Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems built the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder and the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System instrument.NASA-TV will cover the launch live and can be viewed at www.nasa.gov/ntv, starting at 1:15 a.m. PST on November 10.
(L-18) Prep continues on the launch pad at Vandenberg AFB. Just 18 days until the #JPSS1 launch! Photo: @NOAA ow.ly/YATR30fE4EN