SpaceX Yet another mission has been added to an already crowded launch manifest.
Elon MuskThe company has been awarded a launch contract for JPSS-4 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). satelliteIf all goes according to plan, JPSS-4 will Falcon 9 The rocket is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Space Center in California in 2027.
The firm’s fixed-price contract is valued at $112.7 million, “which includes launch services and other mission-related costs.” National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Officials Updated on Monday (July 22).
The JPSS (“Joint Polar Satellite System”) program is a collaborative project between NOAA and NASA (which awarded the JPSS-4 launch contract on behalf of NOAA). This constellation of satellites collects a variety of information about Earth’s land, sea, and sky.
“These data support NOAA’s mission of continually observing the Earth’s environment to understand and predict change in weather, climate, oceans, and coasts to power the nation’s economy and protect lives and property,” NASA officials said in the same update. “NASA uses instruments aboard the JPSS satellite to continue decades of Earth science research for the advancement of humanity.”
To date, three JPSS satellites have been launched, all of which are currently operational. Suomi Nuclear Power Plant JPSS-1 (renamed NOAA-20 when it reaches final orbit) was launched in October 2011, followed by JPSS-2 (NOAA-21) in November 2017 and November 2022. All three were launched on United Launch Alliance rockets. The Delta II for Suomi NPP and JPSS-1, Atlas V In the case of JPSS-2.
The JPSS fleet will ultimately consist of five satellites, with JPSS-3 scheduled to launch in 2032 to complete the constellation.
Related: SpaceX: Facts about Elon Musk’s private spaceflight company
The Falcon 9 has already made 69 launches in 2024. However, Suffering from failure The most recent flight took place on July 11th.
During the mission, the rocket’s upper stage leaked liquid oxygen, preventing it from completing the scheduled orbit-raising engine burn. As a result, the Falcon 9 was Starlink The Internet satellite is too low. All 20 spacecraft are estimated to be doomed to perish in a sea of fire. Earth’s atmosphere.
