Ball Aerospace has successfully launched NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The weather satellite is equipped with the Ball-built Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS), which will provide critical information on the health of the Earth’s ozone layer.
By measuring the global distribution of ozone, OMPS data helps scientists track the recovery of the ozone layer from the effects of ozone-depleting substances like halons or chlorofluorocarbons over the next few decades.
“Yesterday’s launch adds the third Ball Aerospace-built OMPS instrument in orbit, continuing our more than 40-year history of providing ozone monitoring instruments for NOAA and NASA,” said Dr. Alberto Conti, senior director, Civil Space, Ball Aerospace. “We are honored to be a contributor to this important system of satellites that are vital to monitoring short-term and long-term trends and support NOAA’s mission of ensuring a weather-ready nation.”
The OMPS instrument is comprised of two sensors that when combined, provide a daily global map of stratospheric ozone with measurements of its concentration as it varies with altitude, as well as high-resolution vertical profiles from the troposphere up into the lower stratosphere. The two views make it possible to not only measure and monitor the health of the ozone layer, but also enable scientists to see how ozone interacts with other gases in the atmosphere.
The JPSS series of polar-orbiting weather satellites are a collaboration between NOAA, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and industry partners, such as Ball Aerospace. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the JPSS series and will orbit Earth from the North to the South Pole, crossing the equator 14 times a day to provide full global coverage twice a day.
Ball Aerospace has played key roles on numerous operational environmental satellite programs, such as the Ball-built Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite, which launched in 2011, and the JPSS-1 satellite, now NOAA-20, which launched in 2017. Ball is on contract with NASA to build the OMPS instruments for JPSS-3 and JPSS-4.
