The launch of the first Joint Polar System Satellite (JPSS-1) has been delayed three weeks, from Sept. 21 to Oct. 12, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
“The date change gives engineers additional time to test a certain type of capacitor, a device that stores an electric charge, used on the spacecraft,” NOAA said in a statement Aug. 10. “Engineers are also assessing the status of the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder,” a Northrop Grumman [NOC]-built instrument that will collect data on atmospheric temperature and moisture. NOAA did not elaborate on why it needs more time to test and assess.
NOAA is partnering with NASA on the spacecraft, which will collect data for weather forecasts. Assembled by Ball Aerospace [BLL], JPSS-1 will lift off on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. ULA is a joint venture of Boeing [BA] and Lockheed Martin [LMT].
Meanwhile, JPSS-2, which Orbital ATK [OA] is building, is scheduled for a critical design review later this year, according to a company spokeswoman. JPSS-2 is slated for a summer 2021 launch aboard a ULA Atlas 5.
NOAA plans to launch JPSS-3 and JPSS-4 in 2026 and 2031, respectively. The Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite, a precursor to JPSS, was launched in 2011.