In November, NASA successfully launched the first of four Joint Polar Satellite Systems (JPSS) for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). (JPSS-1, once reaching its final orbit, is renamed NOAA-20.)

“Satellites in the JPSS constellation gather global measurements of atmospheric, terrestrial and oceanic conditions, including sea and land surface temperatures, vegetation, clouds, rainfall, snow and ice cover, fire locations and smoke plumes, atmospheric temperature, water vapor and ozone. JPSS delivers key observations for the Nation’s essential products and services, including forecasting severe weather like hurricanes, tornadoes and blizzards days in advance, and assessing environmental hazards such as droughts, forest fires, poor air quality and harmful coastal waters. Further, JPSS will provide continuity of critical, global Earth observations— including our atmosphere, oceans and land through 2038.” 

Mack-Boulder students were lucky enough to meet with Alex Fischer, a mechanical engineer from Ball Aerospace, who worked on JPSS-1.

“Ball designed and built the JPSS-1 spacecraft, the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS), integrated all five of the satellite’s instruments, and is performing satellite-level testing and preparing for launch. Ball will support day-to-day mission operations for the first 90 days following launch, and then as needed after that.” (read more)

Fischer designed and developed the boom on JPSS-1 that holds the gimbals. “The gimbals will steer the Ka-Band antennas so they can broadcast stored mission data to ground receiving stations like at Svalbard Norway, Antarctica, and sometimes Fairbanks, Alaska, and to the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS).”

While at Mack-Boulder, Fischer spoke in detail about thinking about the boom as if it were an arm, developing it in CAD, then having designers work with him to create the finished product. Unfortunately, he was unable to attend the JPSS-1 launch in November as his son was born 3 days earlier!

Ball Aerospace, understandably, does not give tours of their facilities, so having Alex Fischer come speak at Mack was the next best thing. He shared stop-motion animation video of testing the satellite by putting it into a big chamber called Brutus that can make the temperature freezing or brutally hot. It simulated the conditions the satellite experiences in orbit.

Mack-Boulder students loved learning about the creation, the function, and the launch of this latest weather satellite. Thank you, Alex Fischer and Ball Aerospace!