The satellite, known as JPSS-2, will help meteorologists forecast weather, monitor climate change and track wildfires, dust storms and volcanic eruptions.
Excerpt from this story from the Washington Post:
As Tropical Storm Nicole neared Florida on Wednesday, a satellite passed 512 miles overhead, scanning for data to help meteorologists understand what was happening beneath the clouds — and better predict what the storm would do next.
On Thursday, on the other side of the United States, the satellite’s $1.4 billion successor rocketed into space.
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched an Atlas V rocket carrying the JPSS-2 — the second of four satellites in a series known as the Joint Polar Satellite System — at 1:49 a.m. local time from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The JPSS-2 will be key to observing and forecasting extreme weather for an expected life span of at least seven years. Along with its ability to observe the inner workings of storms like Nicole, the satellite’s instruments allow meteorologists to track wildfires, dust storms, sea ice and volcanic eruptions as the spacecraft orbits around Earth 14 times each day.
