With the addition of the JAXA satellite, the Raytheon JPSS CGS now supports five domestic and international missions. Bill Sullivan, JPSS CGS program director for Raytheon’s Intelligence and Information Systems business, said the JPSS CGS validates the efficiency of a common ground system with minimal enhancements and investments.

   “Since being deployed for NOAA’s Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership in 2011, JPSS CGS, one of the few multi-mission ground solutions, is now providing unprecedented global observation capability,” Sullivan said in a statement. “In today’s budget environment, leveraging a common ground system across national and international agencies is the most efficient and cost effective way to improve global environmental observational capabilities.”

   Raytheon said the JPSS CGS was ready to fully support the scheduled JAXA launch less than six months from the initial contract award. The JPSS CGS aims to reduce development and sustainment costs by leveraging a flexible architecture and integrating new and legacy technologies for a variety of mission needs spanning civil, military and scientific communities.

Raytheon’s JPSS CGS also supports the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites’ Meteorological Operational Satellite and the Pentagon’s Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.

   “In the future, the Raytheon JPSS CGS will support NOAA’s JPSS-1 and JPSS-2 missions, as well as the JPSS Free-Flyer mission, which will fly instruments that cannot be accommodated on JPSS satellites,” the company said.