The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project completed a mission operations readiness (MOR) review, Northrop Grumman Corp. [NOC] announced.

The largest review of the overall NPOESS configuration to date, the MOR focused specifically on NPP’s operational readiness and progress to launch.

That review involved personnel from the three agencies leading NPOESS, NASA, NOAA, and the Department of Defense.

Also involved were representatives of Northrop, Raytheon Co. [RTN] and Ball Aerospace [BLL].

The three-day review was conducted at NOAA’s Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Md.

Participants assessed the program’s flight concept of operations, project management, operations and sustainment plans, safety and mission assurance, system design, technical management, training and product validation and other aspects of the program.

NPP is a risk reduction mission for NPOESS, and will be the first major element of the next generation U.S. Earth observation system when it is launched in 2010. NPP science instruments will provide essential data to bridge climate measurements coming from

NASA’s Earth Observation System research satellites, and the launch of the operational NPOESS system is planned for 2013.

"This review was the most far-reaching and detailed review of operations that we’ve had," said Dave Vandervoet, vice president for the civil systems division in the Northrop Space Technology sector.

"Strengths and weaknesses were identified, but most importantly, the MOR determined that NPP’s overall operations readiness is sound and that this satellite will perform its required mission," Vandervoet said.

"The review resulted in no show stoppers for the team to press ahead with their plans, and found that the ground system was mature with very good technical management and communications throughout the NPP/NPOESS organizations," Ken Schwer, NASA NPP program manager, said.

Northrop is the prime contractor for NPOESS, responsible for overall system design and development, system engineering and integration, instrument acquisition and spacecraft

assembly, test, and enterprise operations and sustainment. Raytheon provides the ground systems — command, control and communications, and mission data processing — and system engineering support. Ball is the prime contractor for the NPP spacecraft.

NPP has been undergoing compatibility tests with sensor engineering development units or actual flight units and with the ground system. Three sensors have been delivered for integration onto NPP, and additional testing is being performed to reduce risk until the remaining two sensors are delivered.