Artist’s rendition of the JPSS 1 satellite. Photo: Ball Aerospace

[Via Satellite 07-01-2015] Ball Aerospace has powered on the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS 1) satellite for the first time. Following activation, the environmental monitoring satellite performed within specifications, according to the company.

JPSS 1 is scheduled to launch in 2017. To date, Ball has completed the integration of four of five JPSS 1 flight instruments. The latest milestone means the satellite is moving toward environmental testing by early 2016 with on-time delivery scheduled for late 2016.

“The smooth powering on of JPSS 1 provides insight into how the satellite will perform on orbit,” said Cary Ludtke, vice president general manager for Ball’s civil and operational space business unit.

When launched, JPSS 1 will continue the collection of operational polar-orbiting weather and climate data currently provided by the NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite, which Ball also built and has been in orbit since 2011. Ball is under contract to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center for designing and building the JPSS 1 spacecraft, building the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) instrument — which measures levels of stratospheric ozone that protect the Earth’s surface from damaging ultraviolet light, integrating all five instruments, and performing satellite-level testing and launch support.

NASA manages the acquisition of the flight-launch services and portions of the ground segment on behalf of NOAA.