Nasa has awarded a new launch services II contract to United Launch Alliance (ULA) for the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-2) mission.
The new agreement will see the JPSS-2on mission launched aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California by 2021.
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The JPSS-2 mission is part of a multi-satellite cooperative programme between Nasa and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and will be the third new generation polar-orbiting operational environmental sensing satellite system in the US.
NOAA aims to collect global multi-spectral radiometry and other specialised meteorological, oceanographic, and solar-geophysical data through the JPSS programme via remote sensing of land, sea and atmospheric properties.
United Launch Alliance government satellite launch vice-president Laura Maginnis said: “The tremendous heritage of 70 consecutive successful Atlas V launches coupled with ULA’s high schedule certainty and proven reliability provides the best value for our customer.
“We look forward to working together again with our mission partners at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre, Goddard Space Flight Centre and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the integration and launch of this critical mission for the nation.”
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By GlobalDataThe company is also expected to launch Nasa’s JPSS-1 mission by September this year aboard a Delta II rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base.
ULA previously launched an Atlas V rocket carrying the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R-series (GOES-R) satellite for Nasa and NOAA in November last year.
