Suomi NPP
Suomi NPP is a NASA–NOAA polar-orbiting Earth-observation mission launched on 28 October 2011 as a pathfinder and bridge to the Joint Polar Satellite System. Its observations support weather forecasting and monitoring of storms, fires, vegetation, sea ice and other environmental conditions. It became the tertiary JPSS platform after NOAA-21 took the primary role in 2024. On 19 October 2026, NOAA announced plans to begin lowering Suomi NPP’s orbit on 1 December 2026, with an approximately twelve-day disposal sequence ending in reentry over the South Pacific. This is an announced end-of-mission plan, not a completed reentry.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Suomi National Polar-orbiting PartnershipNPOESS Preparatory ProjectNPPJPSS-0
- Name
- Suomi NPP
- Status
- active
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- Suomi NPP is a NASA–NOAA polar-orbiting Earth-observation mission launched on 28 October 2011 as a pathfinder and bridge to the Joint Polar Satellite System. Its observations support weather forecasting and monitoring of storms, fires, vegetation, sea ice and other environmental conditions. It became the tertiary JPSS platform after NOAA-21 took the primary role in 2024. On 19 October 2026, NOAA announced plans to begin lowering Suomi NPP’s orbit on 1 December 2026, with an approximately twelve-day disposal sequence ending in reentry over the South Pacific. This is an announced end-of-mission plan, not a completed reentry.
- Destination
- Near-circular, sun-synchronous, near-polar Earth orbit at approximately 840 km altitude (98.7° inclination; 101.5-minute period) for weather forecasting and land, ocean, atmosphere, and climate monitoring
- Launch Site
- Programs
- Start Date
- 2011-10-28
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://science.nasa.gov/mission/suomi-npp/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 14, 2026 at 22:49:29 UTC
- Updated Time
- October 29, 2026 at 16:00:17 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles