In an accordion-like motion, five solar panels successfully unfolded from the JPSS-4 satellite during its solar array deployment test, marking a major milestone for the next satellite launch in NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). As one of the major testing milestones for the weather satellite, the solar array deployment test verified that the satellite’s solar panels can deploy once launched into orbit, where they will provide the satellite with necessary solar energy for mission operations.
Northrop Grumman built and tested the solar array at its Goleta, Calif., facility, and then integrated it onto Northrop Grumman’s spacecraft bus at its Gilbert, Ariz.,spacecraft facility. The solar array and spacecraft bus, with its five Earth-observing instruments developed by multiple partners, make up the JPSS-4 Observatory, a satellite that will observe the Earth from a polar orbit to provide critical weather and environmental data.
The JPSS-4 satellite’s five instruments gather measurements of conditions in the atmosphere, in the ocean, and on land. Credit: NOAA.
During the solar array deployment test, the JPSS-4 satellite stood upright in the cleanroom, gleaming with the reflective multi-layer insulation blankets that will help keep it protected from harsh temperatures. Several team members dressed in white protective cleanroom suits intently monitored the solar array deployment and took measurements to ensure the satellite’s electrical connections and overall performance were functioning properly.
“The successful solar array deployment on the Northrop Grumman-built JPSS-4 Observatory stands as a testament to the powerful collaboration between the engineering teams,” said JPSS Observatory Manager Baran Sahin. “It also highlights the technical precision and shared expertise of our industry partners in ensuring that our national assets perform flawlessly in orbit, securing vital weather-forecasting data for the future.”
After launch, the JPSS-4 satellite, like its predecessors Suomi-NPP, NOAA-20, and NOAA-21, will orbit Earth from pole to pole along a north-south path, taking weather forecasting measurements and observations that help the nation plan for hurricanes, snowstorms, floods, and other severe weather. The satellite will feed critical data to global weather forecast models that will help forecasters improve the accuracy of weather predictions three to seven days in advance. Once in orbit, JPSS-4 will be renamed NOAA-22.
A successful solar array deployment test helps confirm that a satellite’s solar array will deploy once the satellite is in space. Once deployed, the solar array provides electricity to power the satellite’s instruments and systems.
A final satellite solar array deployment test will be conducted on JPSS-4 prior to its shipment to the launch site at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
“The solar array deployment is one of the mission’s most complex tests,” said JPSS Flight Project Manager André Dress. “It’s critical to ensuring mission success, and the team performed it flawlessly.”
The JPSS program is a collaborative effort between NOAA and NASA. NOAA funds and manages the program, operations, and data products. On behalf of NOAA, NASA develops and builds the instruments and spacecraft and launches the satellites, which NOAA then operates.