Joint Polar Satellite System completes critical program reviews

June 27, 2013

NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) recently completed two key programmatic reviews at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, and is continuing a steady, on schedule and on budget march toward the 2017 launch of JPSS-1, the second in the series of next generation polar-orbiting weather satellites.

These detailed reviews, known as the Program System Definition Review (P/SDR) and JPSS-1 Mission Preliminary Design Review (MPDR), show the program is on track as it moves forward to meeting even higher-level critical milestones later this summer. The P/SDR is an independent review that evaluates the proposed structure of the program and finalizes the content, schedule and cost. The MPDR is a milestone for an independent review of the design of the JPSS-1 mission, including how the satellite, ground system, launch service, and operations all come together to achieve the mission objectives.

“Completing these reviews demonstrates the success and progress we are making within the overall JPSS program,” said Harry Cikanek, NOAA JPSS program director. “I am proud of the work our combined NOAA/NASA team has done to aggressively implement this program and deliver our products on budget and on schedule.”

Next on tap for the JPSS-1 mission, for which the instruments are almost complete and the spacecraft construction is well underway, is Key Decision Point-C, and the JPSS program Key Decision Point-I. These two additional reviews will monitor the overall readiness of JPSS, and are expected to occur this summer. Following this, the next milestone for the JPSS-1 mission is a Critical Design Review in early 2014. The next major review for the program overall will be in 2015.

The JPSS satellites are a follow on from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite, a joint NOAA and NASA satellite and the first spacecraft in the JPSS series, launched on Oct. 28, 2011. Since its launch, the Suomi NPP spacecraft, instruments, and ground system have demonstrated successful operation, showcasing the JPSS capabilities to come.

The JPSS satellites represent significant technological and scientific advances for more accurate weather forecasting to improve prediction capabilities that save lives, facilitate the flow of commerce, and protect the economic interests of both the public and private sectors during severe weather events. NOAA, working in partnership with NASA, ensures a continuous flow of global data for monitoring and forecasting environmental phenomena.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. For more information about NOAA satellites, please visit www.nesdis.noa.gov and follow us on Facebook , Twitter and our other social media channels.

For more information about JPSS, visit: http://www.jpss.noaa.gov

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First-ever National Forum to shape a U.S. national ocean exploration program

July 18, 2013

'Ocean Exploration 2020: A National Forum,' will bring together more than 100 ocean explorers and representatives from federal agencies, state governments, non-governmental organizations, universities, ocean institutions and leading industries to shape a U.S. national ocean exploration program. The Forum, to be held at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, July 19-21, will gather experts with the aim of developing a national program that will be fully implemented by 2020.

"The expertise and imagination that will come together at the Forum is exciting," said Robert Detrick, Ph.D., assistant administrator for NOAA Research, and a Forum speaker. "Partnerships will be the key to developing and following-through on a national ocean exploration program that truly makes a difference. Partnerships leverage the funding, equipment, and expertise required to significantly advance the nation's ocean-related scientific, economic, environmental and educational goals."

Forum participants include ocean explorers and ocean resource managers as well as educators, project managers, technologists, information managers and entrepreneurs who will share their ideas for taking the nation's ocean exploration program where it should be in 2020.

"It is an honor that we are co-hosting the Forum that will define the future of ocean exploration and lead to the nation's national ocean exploration program," said Jerry Schubel, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Aquarium of the Pacific.

The first two days of the Forum are by invitation and will involve presentations, panel discussions and breakout sessions covering themes such as exploration priorities, technology, platforms, data and information management and sharing, citizen science and exploration, ocean exploration, and public engagement.

The final day, Sunday, July 21, is Explorers Day and is open to the public. A number of explorers from the Forum will remain to meet with the public to explain their ocean exploration work and to answer questions about ocean exploration robots and other equipment on display. This event is part of the Aquarium of the Pacific's ongoing Ocean Exploration program and Wonders of the Deep exhibit, which launched May 24, 2013.

Explorers Day will also feature demonstrations, workshops, and live interactive engagements with explorers at sea on 'America's ship for ocean exploration,' NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer; with explorers on the Schmidt Ocean Institute's Research Vessel Falkor; and with Dr. Robert Ballard's team on the Ocean Exploration Trust's Exploration Vessel Nautilus.

Forum partners include NOAA, the Aquarium of the Pacific, the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration, the Schmidt Ocean Institute, Google, Inc., the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Esri, NASA, the National Geographic Society, the National Research Foundation, the Ocean Exploration Trust, The Roddenberry Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Department of State. Others from governmental and non-governmental organizations will participate and during the first two days, and members of the public will participate as 'citizen explorers' online, adding  their voices in shaping the nation's ocean exploration program.

Except for breakout sessions, live streaming video will be available from the Forum at http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/oceanexploration2020/welcome.html. That website also offers more information about the Forum, including how the public may participate in the dialogue, as well as details about the event's partners, agenda, speakers, and related news.

Five breakout sessions are planned-four in-person and one online-each with the same assignment: to outline a 10-to-15-step plan to create a distinctive, distinguished, and inclusive National Ocean Exploration Program in 2020 that considers all ocean exploration stakeholders. Forum participants will then work to reduce and combine elements of the five plans into an ocean exploration vision and plan for a national program, including a strategy for meeting plan goals.

NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration and Research explores the ocean for the purpose of discovery and the advancement of knowledge. To learn more, visit http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/.

NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Twitter, Facebook and our other social media channels. Visit our news release archive. 

The nonprofit Aquarium of the Pacific is a leader in ocean exploration education, bringing current ocean exploration and research initiatives to the forefront and connecting the public to scientists and explorers daily. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and our other social media channels.

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