National Polar Orbiting Environment Satellite System (NPOESS) and Military Planning Benefits Compared to the current Satellite System

Table of Content

CHAPTER ONE3

INTRODUCTION3

Early Convergence6

CHAPTER TWO9

LITERATURE REVIEW9

Development of the Converged Polar-Orbiting Satellite System12

CHAPTER THREE17

METHODOLOGY17

Research Method17

Literature Selection Criteria17

Search Technique18

Theoretical Framework18

CHAPTER FOUR20

CONCLUSION20

REFERENCES29

Chapter One

Introduction

Over the last decade, the U.s. government has been merging the nation's military and civil operational meteorological satellite programs into a single, integrated, end-to-end satellite system capable of satisfying both civil and national security requirements for space-based remotely sensed environmental data. Convergence of these programs is the most significant change in U.s. operational remote sensing since the launching of the first weather satellite in April 1960, and marks a significant departure from eight previous attempts over the last 25 years to combine these separate programs.

For the first time, 1the U.S. government is taking an integrated approach to identifying and meeting the operational satellite needs of both the civil and national security communities. The joint program formed in 1994 by a Presidential Decision Directive is the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental satellite system. The NPOEss program has provided more than $670 million in savings through Fiscal Year 2001, and it is expected to save $1.6 billion in acquisition and operational costs through the system Life Cycle of the program compared to the costs of continuing the previously planned upgrades to the separate satellite systems within the Department of Defense and the Department of Commerce.

The U.s. government has traditionally maintained two operational weather satellite systems, each with over a 40-year heritage of successful service: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental satellite (POEs), and DoD's Defense Meteorological satellite Program (DMsP). The POEs and DMsP spacecraft have revolutionized the way in which we observe and predict the weather. With the development of NPOEss, we will evolve and expand our capabilities to observe, assess and predict the total Earth system—atmosphere, ocean, 1land and the space environment.

Recent changes in world political events and declining agency budgets prompted a re-examination of combining the two systems. In 1992, a National space Council study recommended convergence of the two separate weather satellite systems. Following further recommendations contained in the National Performance Review and influenced by increased Congressional interest, NOAA, DoD and the National Aeronautics and space Administration initiated studies in 1993 to determine how to converge the two systems. The completed study revealed that a converged system could reduce agency duplication and bureaucracy, substantially reduce costs, and satisfy both civil and military requirements for operational, space-based, remotely sensed environmental data. This tri-agency study formed the basis for the development of the Implementation Plan for a Converged Polar-orbiting Environmental satellite system that was issued in conjunction with the 1994 Presidential Decision Directive. 2

On October 3, 1994, NOAA, DoD, and NAsA created an Integrated Program Office to develop, manage, acquire, and operate NPOEss. The IPO is located organizationally within NOAA and is headed by a system Program Director who is responsible to the NPOEss Executive Committee. This Committee, which includes senior representatives from the three agencies, serves as a board of directors ...