NPP Launch

November 3, 2011

On October 28, the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft was launched on a Delta vehicle from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.  Instruments onboard will acquire climate and weather data measurements covering atmosphere, land and ocean.  Several critical measurement objectives are: climate change, ozone layer dynamics, disaster monitoring, weather prediction, vegetation, global ice cover, air pollution, and global energy budget.  NPP measurements will provide continuity with Earth Observing System measurements (1997-present) and other currently active and previously active spaceborne instruments.   SESDA personnel support the mission in a wide spectrum of activities.  Science writers and graphics designers support multiple outreach efforts. Our staff provide integration, test and operational data processing support to the Ozone Monitoring Instrument Science Investigator Processing System, which will now handle NPP Ozone Mapper Profile Suite data. Systems administrators are responsible for network and servers used in data transport as well as servers used to process Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite data. SESDA staff scientists and scientific programmers eagerly await processed data to feed models and analysis, which will help make progress in understanding mission science objectives.

NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP)

NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) will acquire land, ocean and atmospheric measurements for Earth system science. Upper left: The NPP instrument package following Thermal Vacuum testing at Ball Aerospace. Upper right: launch of NPP Oct. 28, 2011 on a Delta vehicle. Bottom: SESDA staff Christina Coleman, Aries Keck, and Ellen Gray of the NPP media team bundled up at 2 AM at the launch site. SESDA personnel also operate networks and systems supporting NPP data processing.

 

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