Sun, Nov 09, 2008
DMSP Flight 16 Spacecraft Exceeds Design Limit
The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Flight 16
(F16) Block 5D-3 spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin, has
surpassed five years of on-orbit operations and continues to
provide critical weather data to the warfighter, one year beyond
its four year design life.
The DMSP constellation is built under contract for the US Air
Force and is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). As a result of the constellation's
exceptional performance, stability and longevity, the US Air Force
Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, CA
has elected to postpone the planned November 2008 launch of the
replacement F18 DMSP spacecraft, preserving future launch
options.
"We take great pride in DMSP's sustained record of performance
serving the warfighter," said Sue Stretch, Lockheed Martin's DMSP
program director. "Our partnership with the Air Force ensures
commanders have timely access to environmental data critical to the
preparation and execution of military operations and we look
forward to providing continued success for our customer."
DMSP is used for strategic and tactical weather prediction to
aid the US military in planning operations at sea, on land and in
the air. Equipped with a sophisticated sensor suite that can image
cloud cover in visible and infrared bands and measure
precipitation, surface temperature and soil moisture, the satellite
collects specialized global meteorological, oceanographic and
solar-geophysical information in all weather conditions.
The DMSP constellation comprises two spacecraft in near-polar
orbits, C3 (command, control and communications), user terminals
and weather centers. The final replacement satellites are
maintained at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Sunnyvale, CA for
storage, functional testing and upgrading until the spacecraft are
shipped to Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA for launch when requested
by the Air Force.
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