Mary-Louise Hoffman
Ball Aerospace & Technologies has evaluated how a U.S. weather forecasting satellite platform could integrate with the spacecraft communication network SpaceWire.
Joint Polar Satellite System-1 is a collaboration between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is designed to track global climate patterns, Ball Aerospace said Monday.
The company built the JPSS-1’s satellite bus structure and remote-sensing components, including the Ozone Mapping and Profile Suite.
“With the SpaceWire risk reduction test behind us, we have initiated spacecraft bus integration and are proceeding ahead of schedule toward instrument integration in November of this year,†said Cary Ludtke, vice president and general manager for Ball Aerospace’s operational space business unit.
JPSS-1 is scheduled to undergo power-up testing later this month and lift off in early 2017.
