The JPSS 1 satellite. Photo: Ball Aerospace

[Via Satellite 04-28-2015] Ball Aerospace has integrated four out of five instruments for the Joint Polar Satellite System 1 (JPSS), under contract from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The company has integrated the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrlS), Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite-Nadir (OMPS-N), and Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments, with the last remaining piece, the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) scheduled for integration later this year ahead of environmental testing.

Ball Aerospace is tasked with providing the JPSS 1 satellite bus, the OMPS-Nadir instrument, total instrument integration, and performing satellite-level testing and launch support. NOAA provides the funding and requirements for JPSS and works with NASA, which procures the flight and portions of the ground segment. Once in space, the satellite will be responsible for the primary contribution to the afternoon orbit, providing data for weather forecasting and severe storm warnings. JPSS 1 is scheduled to launch no later than the second quarter of 2017.