Nasa has launched a new Earth-observation satellite on a Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, US.
The satellite carries five science instruments, including four new sensors that will provide critical data to help scientists understand the dynamics of long-term climate patterns and help meteorologists improve short-term weather forecasts, Nasa said.
The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) mission will extend more than 30 key long-term datasets that Nasa has been tracking, including measurements of the ozone layer, land cover and ice cover.
The project will serve as a bridge between Nasa’s Earth Observing System (EOS) of satellites and the planned Joint Polar Satellite System, which will collect climate and weather data.
NPP will allow scientists to extend the continuous satellite record needed to detect and quantify global environmental changes.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland, US, will operate the NPP satellite for the first three months after launch while the satellite and instruments are checked.
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By GlobalDataThe NPP project cost about $1.5bn.
