Artist rendition of the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) 2. Photo: Orbital ATK.

Raytheon has completed an upgrade and final testing of the data transport and processing system for the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Common Ground System (CGS), which provides weather and environmental data used by NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the agencies’ international partners.

The Raytheon-built visible infrared imaging radiometer suite on the JPSS 1 satellite, as well as the Raytheon-supported weather interactive processing system NOAA uses for weather forecasting, both rely on the JPSS CGS.

According to Raytheon, the upgrade accelerates data processing and dissemination, improves system availability, and provides cybersecurity protection of the data and the CGS in support of the upcoming JPSS 1 launch as well as future satellite missions.

The system upgrade precedes the final major step — an upgrade of the flight operations elements of the CGS — prior to the JPSS 1 launch scheduled for September.