NOAA declares first JPSS weather satellite operational

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced May 30 that its first next-generation polar-orbiting weather satellite is now fully operational as the government moves to procure additional satellites. NOAA said that the first Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) weather satellite, renamed NOAA-20 after its Nov. 18 launch, had completed six months of on-orbit checkout and is now fully operational. NOAA-20 is in the same orbit as the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite, which had been serving as NOAA’s primary polar-orbiting weather satellite since 2014. While Suomi, launched in late 2011, continues to operate past its planned five-year lifetime, NOAA-20 entering service ends any concerns about a data gap. More

(Source: SpaceNews - May 31)