View source for Engineering:NOAA-21

{{Short description|NASA/NOAA satellite}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name              = NOAA-21
| names_list        = JPSS-2<br/>Joint Polar Satellite System-2
| image             = Artist's rendering of NOAA-21.png
| image_caption     = Artist's rendering of the NOAA-21 satellite in orbit.
| image_size        = 300px

| mission_type      = [[Engineering:Weather satellite|Weather]]
| operator          = [[Organization:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]]
| COSPAR_ID         = 
| SATCAT            = 
| website           = http://www.jpss.noaa.gov/
| mission_duration  = 7 years (planned) {{time interval|November 10, 2022|show=ymd}} (elapsed)

| spacecraft_type   = Joint Polar Satellite System
| spacecraft_bus    = [[Engineering:Star Bus|LEOStar-3]]
| manufacturer      = [[Company:Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems|Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems]]
| launch_mass       = {{cvt|2930|kg}}
| payload_mass      = 
| dry_mass          = 
| dimensions        = 
| power             =

| launch_date       = 10 November 2022, 09:49:00 UTC<ref name="nsf-20221110">{{cite web |last=Gebhardt |first=Chris |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/11/jpss-2-launch/ |title=Atlas rocket bids farewell to California as ULA readies for Vulcan |work=NASASpaceFlight |date=10 November 2022 |access-date=10 November 2022}}</ref>
| launch_rocket     = [[Engineering:Atlas V|Atlas V 401]]
| launch_site       = Vandenberg, SLC-3E 
| launch_contractor = [[Company:United Launch Alliance|United Launch Alliance]]

| entered_service   = 
| disposal_type     = 
| deactivated       = 
| last_contact      =

| orbit_reference   = [[Astronomy:Geocentric orbit|Geocentric orbit]] (planned)
| orbit_regime      = [[Astronomy:Sun-synchronous orbit|Sun-synchronous orbit]]
| orbit_altitude    = 833 km
| orbit_inclination = 98.80°
| orbit_period      = 102.00 minutes
| apsis             = gee

| instruments       = Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS)<br/>Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS)<br/>Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS)<br/>Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)
|insignia=NASA Virtual guest program 22.png
|insignia_size=300px
|insignia_caption=Alternate NOAA-21 Mission Patch by NASA [[Company:Eventbrite|Eventbrite]]
| programme         = [[Engineering:Joint Polar Satellite System|Joint Polar Satellite System]]
| previous_mission  = [[Engineering:NOAA-20|NOAA-20]]
| next_mission      = JPSS-3 (NOAA-22)
}}

[[File:JPSS Concept of Operations.webm|thumb|upright=1.0|right|This visualization illustrates how NOAA-20 orbit phasing and raising works relative to Suomi NPP, the notional way can be maneuvered a quarter-orbit along-track separation from NOAA-20 prior to launch of JPSS-2, and how a three-satellite constellation operates on a Sun-synchronous orbit node-crossing including sensor-swath footprints as the world turns below.]]

'''NOAA-21''', designated '''JPSS-2''' prior to launch,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/jpss-2-has-new-name-noaa-21 |title=JPSS-2 Has a New Name: NOAA-21 |work=NESDIS |publisher=NOAA |date=21 November 2022 |access-date=22 November 2022}}</ref> is the second of the United States [[Organization:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA)'s latest generation of U.S. polar-orbiting, non-geosynchronous, environmental satellites called the [[Engineering:Joint Polar Satellite System|Joint Polar Satellite System]]. NOAA-21 was launched on 10 November 2022<ref name="nsf-20221110"/> and join [[Engineering:NOAA-20|NOAA-20]] and [[Engineering:Suomi NPP|Suomi NPP]] in the same orbit.<ref name="noaa-20220531">{{cite web |url=https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/noaas-jpss-2-mission-has-new-launch-date |title=NOAA's JPSS-2 Mission Has New Launch Date |work=NESDIS |publisher=NOAA |date=31 May 2022 |access-date=31 May 2022}}</ref> Circling the [[Astronomy:Earth|Earth]] from pole-to-pole, it will cross the [[Astronomy:Equator|equator]] about 14 times daily, providing full global coverage twice a day.<ref name="MissAndInst"/> It was launched with LOFTID.

NOAA-21 will provide operational continuity of satellite-based observations and products for NOAA Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES) and Suomi NPP satellite and ground systems.<ref name="MissAndInst"/> The baseline plan for JPSS Ground System will be sustained to support NOAA-21, similar to NOAA-20. NOAA-21 hosts the following instruments: 1) VIIRS, 2) CrIS, 3) ATMS, and 4) OMPS. It was at one time intended to carry the [[Physics:Radiation Budget Instrument|Radiation Budget Instrument]] (RBI) but [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] cancelled that project in 2018.<ref name="RBInomore">{{cite news|title=NASA Cancels Earth Science Sensor Set for 2021 Launch|url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-cancels-earth-science-sensor-set-for-2021-launch|access-date=14 February 2018|date=26 January 2018}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

== Development ==
On 24 March 2015, NASA announced that [[Company:Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems|Orbital ATK]] would build one, and possibly three, [[Engineering:Joint Polar Satellite System|Joint Polar Satellite System]] spacecraft. In winning the contract, Orbital unseated the incumbent Ball Aerospace & Technologies which had built NOAA-20 (JPSS-1) and [[Engineering:Suomi NPP|Suomi NPP]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Orbital ATK Wrests JPSS Business From Ball|url=http://spacenews.com/orbital-atk-snatches-jpss-business-from-ball/|access-date=13 February 2018|publisher=SpaceNews|date=23 March 2015}}</ref> NOAA-21 is based on Orbital ATK's [[Engineering:Star Bus|LEOStar-3]] spacecraft bus platform, which was also used on [[Engineering:Landsat 8|Landsat 8]]. The second Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation satellite ([[Engineering:ICESat-2|ICESat-2]]) and the [[Engineering:Landsat 9|Landsat 9]] spacecraft are also based on the LEOStar-3 and are being built at Orbital ATK's Gilbert facility at the same time.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Datta|first1=Anasuya|title=Orbital ATK to start manufacturing Landsat 9 as spacecraft passes critical design review|url=https://www.geospatialworld.net/blogs/orbital-atk-to-start-manufacturing-landsat-9/|access-date=22 March 2018|date=20 March 2018}}</ref>

The launch services contract was awarded to [[Company:United Launch Alliance|United Launch Alliance]] (ULA) on 3 March 2017.<ref name="contract">{{cite web|last1=Cole|first1=Steve|title=NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Joint Polar Satellite System-2 Mission|date=3 March 2017|url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-awards-launch-services-contract-for-joint-polar-satellite-system-2-mission|publisher=NASA|access-date=13 April 2018}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

== Launch ==
NOAA-21 was launched on 10 November 2022 on an [[Engineering:Atlas V|Atlas V]] 401 rocket from Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 3 (SLC-3E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in {{wipe|California}}. It was the final launch of an Atlas V from Vandenberg Space Force Base.<ref name="nsf-20221110"/> 

NOAA-21's launch date had been pushed back several times. In May 2022 it slipped a little more than a month when VIIRS experienced a test equipment anomaly during thermal vacuum (TVAC) testing.<ref>{{cite news |title=NOAA's JPSS-2 Mission Has New Launch Date |url=https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/noaas-jpss-2-mission-has-new-launch-date |access-date=18 November 2022}}</ref> It slipped again from November 1st following ULA discovering that the battery on the Atlas V's Centaur upper stage needed to be replaced.<ref>{{cite news |title=Centaur issue delays JPSS-2 launch |url=https://spacenews.com/centaur-issue-delays-jpss-2-launch/ |access-date=18 November 2022}}</ref> Launch and activation was hampered by a solar array deployment failure that was detected a few hours after launch.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Foust |first1=Jeff |title=JPSS-2 deploys solar array after dela |url=https://spacenews.com/jpss-2-deploys-solar-array-after-delay/ |access-date=18 November 2022}}</ref>

The spacecraft went through a post-launch testing period of ten months, during which all the spacecraft’s primary systems have been checked, and it was officially declared operational on 8 November 2023.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/noaa-21-operational |title=NOAA-21 is operational |date=8 November 2023 |access-date=8 November 2023 |work=NOAA}}</ref>

== Instruments ==
The NOAA-21 sensors/instruments are:<ref name="MissAndInst">{{cite web|title=Joint Polar Satellite System: Mission and Instruments|url=http://www.jpss.noaa.gov/mission_and_instruments.html|publisher=NASA |access-date=14 November 2017}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

=== Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) ===
The [[Engineering:Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder|Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder]] (ATMS) is a cross-track scanner with 22 channels. It provides sounding observations needed to retrieve atmospheric moisture and temperature profiles for real-time civilian weather forecasting and to provide continuity of these measurements for climate monitoring. It is a lighter-weight version of the previous Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) and Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS) instruments flown on previous NOAA and [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] satellites with no new performance capabilities.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110315210943/http://jointmission.gsfc.nasa.gov/atms.html The Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder] ''NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center'' Retrieved 22 June 2017 {{PD-notice}}</ref>

=== Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) ===
The Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) instrument will be used to produce high-resolution, three-dimensional moisture, pressure, and temperature profiles. These profiles will help scientists to enhance weather forecasting models, and will be used in both short- and long-term weather forecasting. They will help improve the understanding of regular climate phenomena such as [[Earth:El Niño|El Niño]] and [[Earth:La Niña|La Niña]]. This is a brand-new instrument with breakthrough performance.<ref>[http://jointmission.gsfc.nasa.gov/cris.html "The Cross-track Infrared Sounder"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807222555/http://jointmission.gsfc.nasa.gov/cris.html|date=August 7, 2011}} ''NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center'' Retrieved 22 June 2017</ref> CrIS represents a significant enhancement over NOAA's legacy infrared sounder — High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) and is meant to be a counterpart to the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI).

=== Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) ===
The [[Engineering:Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite|Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite]] (OMPS) is a suite of three hyperspectral instruments that is extending the 25-plus year total-[[Chemistry:Ozone|ozone]] and ozone-profile records. Ozone-assessment researchers and policy makers use these records to track the health of the ozone layer. Better testing and monitoring of the complex chemistry involved in ozone destruction near the troposphere is made possible by the improved vertical resolution of OMPS data products. OMPS products, when used with cloud predictions, also produce better ultraviolet index forecasts.<ref name="Ozone">{{cite web |url=http://jointmission.gsfc.nasa.gov/omps.html|title=Ozone Mapper Profiler Suite|publisher=NASA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317012026/http://jointmission.gsfc.nasa.gov/omps.html|access-date=22 June 2017|archive-date=17 March 2011}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> OMPS carries on a long tradition of space borne measurements of ozone beginning in 1970 with the [[Engineering:Nimbus 4|Nimbus 4]] satellite and continuing with the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV and SBUV/2), [[Physics:Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer|Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer]] (TOMS) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) instruments on various NASA, NOAA, and international satellites. Over the more than 30-year period in which these instruments have been operating, they have provided a very detailed and important long-term record of the global distribution of ozone.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite (OMPS)|url=https://jointmission.gsfc.nasa.gov/omps.html|access-date=22 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420190923/https://jointmission.gsfc.nasa.gov/omps.html  |archive-date=April 20, 2018|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

=== Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) ===
[[File:NOAA-21 Daily image 2023-07-05.jpg|thumb|right|Mosaic of images captured by the VIIRS instrument]]
The [[Physics:Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite|Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite]] (VIIRS) takes global [[Physics:Visible spectrum|visible]] and [[Physics:Infrared|infrared]] observations of land, ocean, and atmosphere parameters at high temporal resolution. Developed from the [[Astronomy:Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer|Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer]] (MODIS) instrument flown on the [[Engineering:Aqua (satellite)|Aqua]] and [[Engineering:Terra (satellite)|Terra]] [[Astronomy:Earth Observing System|Earth Observing System]] (EOS) satellites, it has significantly better performance than the [[Engineering:Advanced very-high-resolution radiometer|Advanced very-high-resolution radiometer]] (AVHRR) previously flown on [[Organization:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]] satellites.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110317012031/http://jointmission.gsfc.nasa.gov/viirs.html "The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite"] ''NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center'' Retrieved 22 June 2017</ref> VIIRS Focal Planes were manufactured by Raytheon Vision Systems in Santa Barbara, CA

=== Discontinued instruments ===
==== Radiation Budget Instrument (RBI) ====
The [[Physics:Radiation Budget Instrument|Radiation Budget Instrument]] (RBI) was a planned scanning radiometer capable of measuring Earth's reflected sunlight and emitted thermal radiation. RBI was to fly on NOAA-21, but it experienced significant technical issues and substantial cost growth. Because of these challenges, and the low risk of experiencing a gap in this data record due to having two relatively new instruments in orbit at the time, NASA decided to discontinue development of RBI.<ref name="RBInomore"/> RBI struggled from the beginning. It was originally to be on NOAA's proposed Polar Free Flyer satellite, but in 2014, Congress, led by its Republican majority, refused to fund the satellite. After moving the instrument to NOAA-21 and awarding the contract for development in June 2014,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Scharmann|first1=Rachel |title=Exelis Secures Contract for NASA Radiation Budget Instrument|url=http://www.satellitetoday.com/regional/2014/06/03/exelis-secures-contract-for-nasa-radiation-budget-instrument/|publisher=Satellite Today |access-date=14 February 2018|date=3 June 2014}}</ref> NASA almost immediately began the process of dropping the sensor. NASA halted development in 2015 citing cost and technical concerns.<ref>{{cite news |title=NASA Weather Satellite Procurement Telegraphed Issue with Climate Sensor|url=http://spacenews.com/nasa-tells-exelis-to-stop-work-on-jpss-2-instrument/|publisher=SpaceNews|access-date=14 February 2018 |date=11 June 2015}}</ref> In 2017, it was defunded in the Trump administration's first budget because of "schedule and technical difficulties".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wall|first1=Mike|title=Trump's 2018 Budget Request Axes 5 NASA Earth-Science Missions|url=https://www.space.com/36989-nasa-budget-cancels-five-earth-science-missions.html|publisher=Space.com|access-date=14 February 2018|date=24 May 2017}}</ref> RBI got a brief reprieve when the Senate stated that if NASA determined that RBI could be ready for inclusion on the spacecraft and stay within budget it could continue with reprogrammed funding.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Foust|first1=Jeff|title=Senate restores funding for NASA Earth science and satellite servicing programs|url=http://spacenews.com/senate-restores-funding-for-nasa-earth-science-and-satellite-servicing-programs/|publisher=SpaceNews|access-date=14 February 2018|date=27 June 2017}}</ref> But on 26 January 2018, NASA announced their intention to discontinue development of RBI and shortly thereafter it was again left unfunded in the Trump administration's FY 2019 budget.<ref name="RBInomore"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Wall|first1=Mike|title=Trump's 2019 NASA Budget Request Puts Moon Ahead of Space Station|url=https://www.space.com/39671-trump-nasa-budget-2019-funds-moon-over-iss.html|publisher=Space.com|date=12 February 2018|access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}


[[Category:Weather satellites of the United States]]

{{Sourceattribution|NOAA-21}}