Suomi NPP
The Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP), previously known as the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) and NPP-Bridge, is a weather satellite operated by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It was launched in 2011 and is currently in operation.
Suomi NPP satellite | |||||||||||||
| Names | Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission type | Weather | ||||||||||||
| Operator | NASA / NOAA / DoD | ||||||||||||
| COSPAR ID | 2011-061A | ||||||||||||
| SATCAT no. | 37849 | ||||||||||||
| Website | |||||||||||||
| Mission duration | 5 years (planned) 12 years, 3 months, 16 days (elapsed) | ||||||||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||||||
| Bus | BCP-2000 | ||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Ball Aerospace & Technologies | ||||||||||||
| Launch mass | 2,128 kg (4,691 lb) | ||||||||||||
| Dry mass | 1,400 kg (3,100 lb) | ||||||||||||
| Payload mass | 464 kg (1,023 lb) | ||||||||||||
| Dimensions | 1.3 m x 1.3 m x 4.2 m | ||||||||||||
| Power | 2000 watts | ||||||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||||||
| Launch date | 28 October 2011, 09:48:01.828 UTC | ||||||||||||
| Rocket | Delta II 7920-10C (Delta D357) | ||||||||||||
| Launch site | Vandenberg, SLC-2W | ||||||||||||
| Contractor | United Launch Alliance | ||||||||||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||||||||||
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit | ||||||||||||
| Regime | Sun-synchronous orbit | ||||||||||||
| Perigee altitude | 833.7 km (518.0 mi) | ||||||||||||
| Apogee altitude | 834.3 km (518.4 mi) | ||||||||||||
| Inclination | 98.79° | ||||||||||||
| Period | 101.44 minutes | ||||||||||||
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Insignia for the NPOESS Preparatory Project | |||||||||||||
Suomi NPP was originally intended as a pathfinder for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) program, which was to have replaced NOAA's Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) and the U.S. Air Force's Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). Suomi NPP was launched in 2011 after the cancellation of NPOESS to serve as a stop-gap between the POES satellites and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) which will replace them. Its instruments provide climate measurements that continue prior observations by NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS).