Like most things, satellites have an expiration date. But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plans to ditch its aging polar-orbiting satellites and use a cloud-based system to extend their life by a few more years.

NOAA’s Next Generation Joint Polar Satellite Series (JPSS) is a world first when it comes to polar orbiting satellites. They monitor Earth’s weather and climate change from what’s called low Earth orbit, about 520 miles (836 km) above us; By comparison, the International Space Station orbits about 250 miles (400 km).

With the help of these satellite observations, we can obtain important data that will help us make short and long-term predictions. This data will assist meteorologists in preparing for devastating weather events.

Prior to the development of JPSS, a series of legacy satellites (NOAA-15, NOAA-18, and NOAA-19) were the trio that took the lead in providing data that played a key role in climate and weather forecasting after their launch between 2000 and 2000. 1998 and 2008. and 2005. All are essential parts of NOAA’s Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite (POES) fleet. But as we know, there comes a point with any previous version of the satellite series when it nears the end of its useful life.

“Instead of planning to retire these aging polar satellites, we are working with the private sector on a new business model that will allow us to use new technologies to increase their production and value while helping NOAA fulfill its mission,” said NOAA Director Steve Waltz. said. This is the case, the agency’s National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS) said in a recent statement.

NOAA, Parsons Corp. It plans to use the POES Extended Life Cloud Internet System via Microsoft Azure to manage these satellites using a contract signed in September 2022 with Microsoft. The new approach “ground system as a service” should support the operation of satellites. at least in September 2025, well beyond its expected lifespan. With more years in orbit, the legacy satellites will complement new members of the polar-orbiting satellite family at a lower cost than NOAA’s direct operations, the agency said.

“POES Extended Life will also pave the way for future low Earth orbit missions,” Tim Walsh, director of NOAA’s Low Earth Orbit Observatory, said in the same press release. Examples may include the Quicksounder mission, which will launch a small Earth observation satellite, and the Series One project, which aims to fly microwave sounders on future satellites of the agency’s Near Earth Orbit Network (NEON) program.