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DMSP 5D

The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) has been collecting weather data for US military operations for more than two decades. The men and women of the 6th Space Operations Squadron, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., under the 50th Space Wing at Falcon Air Force Base, Colo., provide command and control support for all DMSP satellites.

At all times, two operational DMSP satellites are in polar orbits at about 450 nautical miles. The primary weather sensor on DMSP is the Operational Linescan System which provides continuous visual and infrared imagery of cloud cover over a swath 1,800 miles wide. Additional satellite sensors measure atmospheric vertical profiles of moisture and temperature. Military weather forecasters use these data to monitor and predict regional and global weather patterns; including the presence of severe thunderstorms, hurricanes, and typhoons. The DMSP satellites also measure local charged particles and electromagnetic fields to assess the impact of the ionosphere on ballistic-missile early warning radar systems and long-range communications. Additionally, these data are used to monitor global auroral activity and to predict the effects of the space environment on military satellite operations.

Tracking stations at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.; New Boston Air Force Station, N.H.; Thule Air Base, Greenland and Kaena Point, Hawaii, receive DMSP data and electronically transfer them to two military weather centers, one at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., and the other at Monterey, Calif. Field and sea units with special equipment can also receive data directly from the satellites.

In May 1994, the President directed the Departments of Defense and Commerce to converge their separate polar orbiting weather satellite programs. DMSP, operated under a tri-agency organization (DoC, DoD, and NASA), will continue to provide essential environmental sensing data to the warfighter.

Air Force Materiel Command's Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is responsible for development and acquisition of DMSP systems.

In 1989, Space Systems Division began the procurement of five Block 5D-3 satellites from General Electric (later acquired by Lockheed Martin). The 5D-3 satellites featured advanced spacecraft buses as well as significant enhancements in their suite of sensors, power and communications subsystems, and expected lifetimes. Launches of the fully developed 5D-3 satellites began with F-16 in 2003, using the last Titan II vehicle. Satellite F-17 was launched on a Delta IV vehicle in 2006 and F-18 on an Atlas V in 2009. By early 2014, two more Block 5D-3 satellites were waiting to replenish the constellation.

The objective of this program is to provide global visual and infrared cloudcover data and specialized environmental data to support Department of Defense operational weather analysis and forecasting requirements. Operationally, the program consists of two satellites in sun-synchronous polar orbits, with the ascending node of one satellite in early morning and the other at local noon.

The 6.4-m-long spacecraft is separated into four sections: (1) a precision mounting platform for sensors and equipment requiring precise alignment; (2) an equipment support module containing the electronics, reaction wheels, and some meteorological sensors; (3) a reaction control equipment support structure containing the third-stage rocket motor and supporting the ascent phase reaction control equipment; and (4) a 9.29-sq-m solar cell panel. The spacecraft stabilization is controlled by a combination flywheel and magnetic control coil system so that sensors are maintained in the desired earth-looking mode.

One feature is the precision-pointing accuracy of the primary imager to 0.01 deg provided by a star sensor and an updated ephemeris navigation system. This allows automatic geographical mapping of the digital imagery to the nearest picture element. The operational linescan system is the primary data acquisition system that provides real-time or stored, multi-orbit, day-and-night, visual and infrared imagery of clouds. A supplementary sensor package contains five special sensors: (1) a microwave temperature sounder, (2) an X-ray spectrometer, (3) an ionospheric/scintillation monitor, (4) a precipitating electron/ion spectrometer, and (5) a microwave imager. A magnetometer may also be included on this spacecraft. Either recorded or real-time data are transmitted to ground-receiving sites by two redundant S-band transmitters. Recorded data are read out to tracking sites located at Fairchild AFB, Washington, and at Loring AFB, Maine, and relayed by SATCOM to Air Force Global Weather Central, Offutt AFB, Nebraska. Real-time data are read out at mobile tactical sites located around the world.

After detecting what has been described as a “sudden spike in temperature,” a 20-year-old weather satellite used by the US military exploded, sending dozens of chunks of debris hurtling into Earth’s orbit. According to the US Air Force, the ageing Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 13 (DMSP-F13) was said to have suffered a “catastrophic event” and exploded into 43 unsalvageable pieces. CelesTrak, a civilian company, was the first to notice the 02 March 2015 explosion of the DMSP unit, which the Air Force then confirmed was lost. DMSP-F13 was launched in 1995, and was the oldest operational satellite in the DMSP weather constellation. “Because this satellite was no longer used by the National Weather Service or the Air Force Weather Agency, the impact of the loss of this satellite is minimal,” the Air Force told SpaceNews.

Senate Report No. 114-49 to accompany S. 1376, a bill for the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2016, included a provision for GAO to evaluate whether launching the last DMSP satellite, DMSP-20, is the most cost-effective solution for covering an expected SBEM data gap over the Indian Ocean; however, there was limited cost information to make this determination. DMSP-20 would have extended coverage until 2023-2027, depending on when the satellite was launched.

Moreover, DOD moved to terminate DMSP-20 in December 2015 due to lack of funding for fiscal year 2016. The relatively high costs of integrating, storing, and launching DMSP-20 — estimated at over $400 million — were important factors in weighing whether to launch the last satellite. Storage costs alone, including the costs of maintaining contractor support and a launch-readiness posture, have accounted for a significant portion of these costs. The termination cannot be reversed because of payload contamination once maintenance activities for DMSP-20 are shut down.

DOD faced near-term gaps over the Indian Ocean for cloud characterization and theater weather imagery data. DoD was examining short-term options for mitigating those gaps, which included continuing to rely on DMSP coverage through the end of life for DMSP-19, and obtaining data from European and Indian partners.

A US weather satellite was deemed lost, as the Air Force stopped trying to recover it following an unsuccessful operation initiated in February 2016. Operators lost the ability to command the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 19 in February 2016. Since then the US Air Force had been trying to fix the problem and recover the spacecraft, but all their results have been in vain. "Operators ceased all recovery efforts," said Andy Roake, a spokesman for Air Force Space Command, as cited by Spacenews.

Spacecraft operators suddenly lost control of the Lockheed Martin built satellite on 11 February 2016. The weather satellite worked to predict bad weather, including fog, thunderstorms and hurricanes that could impact US military operations. The satellite was sent into orbit on April 2014 and was supposed to serve five years. It was the newest Air Force weather satellite in space.

US General John Hyten, the head of Air Force Space Command, ordered a safety investigation board to take a closer look at the incident and see if more information could be found to find out what could have caused the accident. Meanwhile, in the absence of the Flight 19 satellite a much older spacecraft was re-assigned the task of gathering information on cloud imagery.

The Air Force abandoned the Flight 19 satellite 25 July 2016 after an investigation concluded it could not be recovered.

References and Other Resources

• FY98 Budget 0305160F Def Meteorological Satellite Prog (Space)
• DMSP Satellite F10 [from NASA MSFC DAAC]
• DMSP Satellite F13 [from NASA MSFC DAAC]
• Fact Sheet USAF Space Command
• Satellite imagery at FNMOC is provided by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). This imagery is derived from polar orbiting satellites and merged together to produce a mosaic of the area. Select the desired options and Retrieve the Satellite Imagery.