The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) moved up by one year the launch of its second Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) satellite from fiscal year 2022 to a goal of mid- FY ’21.
NOAA JPSS Director Harry Cikanek told an audience Wednesday the administration performed a number of tradeoffs on schedule versus budget when it first laid out an integrated performance plan in calendar year 2012. Cikanek said as NOAA began analyzing the risk and issues associated with the initial plan, the administration quickly determined it was important to move the JPSS-2 launch schedule forward.
JPSS is the United States’ next-generation polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite system. JPSS is a collaborative program between NOAA and its acquisition agent the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA). The system will be composed of three satellites: Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP), launched in 2011; JPSS-1, scheduled for launch no later than the end of 2nd quarter FY ’17, Cikanek said; and JPSS-2.
Cikanek said major program events upcoming for JPSS-1 includes a part two ground segment integration review and a system integration review. NOAA is also making progress on JPSS-2, Cikanek said, as all the instruments are now under contract and parts are starting to “roll in.” Cikanek also said NOAA has made progress in direct readout capability, which he said has been part of the administration’s proving ground and risk reduction effort for JPSS.
Though NOAA is making enough progress to advance a JPSS-2 launch date, Cikanek said a cloud of uncertainty hangs over the program as the administration does not have an approved plan for polar missions beyond JPSS-2. Cikanek said that NOAA, among other things, is taking steps to get “robust,” including increasing the robustness of spare parts to stay on schedule.
“We’ll (also) continue to look to gain leverage from a variety of implementation measures, including state-of-the-art technologies, disaggregation, alternative architectures, ride shares, partnerships, (and) commercial practices,” Cikanek told a Maryland Space Business Roundtable (MSBR) audience in Greenbelt, Md.
Ball Aerospace [BLL] is the prime contractor for Suomi NPP and JPSS-1.