National Polar-Orbiting Op Env Satellite

Abstract

Presidential Decision Directive/National Science and Technology Council-2 (PDD/NSTC-2) (May 1994) directs the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Commerce (DOC), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to establish a converged national polar-orbiting weather satellite program. The converged program, the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS), combines the follow-on to DoD's Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and the DOC's Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) program. The Air Force (DoD) and NOAA (DOC) fund NPOESS 50/50 (by year) at the total program level. Note: part of the Air Force share also resides in the launch vehicle PE MPAF 0305953F. Apportionment of DoD and DOC funds is accomplished at the program level, rather than to specific activities. EELV funds for launching NPOESS satellites are included in computing the DoD share. The converged program will be the nation's primary source of global weather and environmental data for operational military and civil use. It will provide visible and infrared cloud cover imagery and other atmospheric, oceanographic, terrestrial, and space environmental information. NPOESS will provide a constellation of satellites in sun synchronous, 450 nautical mile (NM) polar-orbits (sun synchronous means the satellites cross the equator at the same local sun time on each of their 14 orbits/day). This exhibit describes the Air Force's portion of the RDT&E funds used for NPOESS. These RDT&E funds will be used for the development and acquisition of three NPOESS sensors (Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS), and the Ozone Mapping/Profiler Suite (OMPS)) for the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) and the sensors for the first two NPOESS satellites (C-1 and C-2). RDT&E funds also include spacecraft (C-1 and C-2), ground system, algorithm development, and the use of the NPOESS McMurdo communication system to provide routing of mission data for the DMSP mission. On 4 Mar 2009, the NPOESS System Program Director notified the NPOESS Tri-agency Executive Committee (EXCOM) the NPOESS program first satellite launch availability and Initial Operational Capability (IOC) dates deviated from the schedule threshold in the approved Acquisition Program Baseline (APB) dated 11 Dec 2008. On 3 Apr 2009, the Milestone Decision Authority (MDA) was notified. The Authorization Conference report prohibits the Air Force from spending more than 50 percent of the funds available for NPOESS until a management and funding strategy is submitted. The Air Force is also prohibited from spending more than 75 percent of the funds available until the implementation plan is submitted to the relevant congressional committees The DoD Appropriations Act directs not more than 50 percent of the funds made available to the Department of Defense for the NPOESS program shall be obligated or expended until the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics) certifies in writing to the congressional defense committees the NPOESS program is being executed in support of the requirements, timelines and acquisition policies needed to meet Department of Defense missions. This PE has been consolidated with PE 0603434F, beginning in FY05. The program remains in BA 04 because near-term efforts focus on Engineering and Manufacturing Development with the PE 0603434F portion of the contract.

Document Details

• Document Type: R2 Budgetary Justification
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2011
• Source ID: 0305178F_4_3600_PB_2011
• Change Summary Explanation: FY11: The FY2010 President's Budget submittal did not reflect FY2011 through FY2015 funding. Therefore, explanation of changes between the two budget positions cannot be made in a relevant manner.
• Service Agency Name: Air Force

Entities

Organizations

• United States Air Force

Tags

Communities of Interest

• Advanced Electronics
• Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

• Acquisition
• Air Force
• Artificial Satellites
• Cloud Cover
• Communication Systems
• Cost Analysis
• Costs
• Data Processing
• Department Of Defense
• Engineering
• Fabrication
• Infrared Detectors
• Product Development
• Space Systems
• Spacecraft
• System Software
• Test And Evaluation

Fields of Study

• Environmental science

Readers

• Aerospace Engineering.
• Atmospheric Remote Sensing.
• Public Financial Management and Budgeting

Technology Areas

• Space
• Space - Satellites