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NPP After Sensor Integration
Credit: NASA/Ball Aerospace
A view of NPP after Ball Aerospace completed integration and performance testing of the satellite's Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) instrument.
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Blue Marble Earth: Eastern Hemisphere
Credit: NASA/NOAA
This photo from NASA's Suomi NPP satellite shows the Eastern Hemisphere of Earth in "Blue Marble" view. The photo, released Feb. 2, 2012, is a companion to a NASA image showing the Western Hemisphere in the same stunning detail. This photo was taken on Jan. 23.
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Suomi NPP Satellite Photos Explained
Credit: NASA/NOAA
NASA scientists created the two new 'Blue Marble' images from data acquired by a new instrument that's aboard the Earth-observing satellite Suomi NPP, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS).
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NPP First Light
Credit: NOAA/Center for Satellite Applications and Research
Eleven days after its launch into Earth orbit, the new satellite known as NPP sent back its first science data on November 8, 2011. This image from the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) depicts the location and abundance of water vapor in the lower atmosphere.
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NPP Global image
Credit: NASA
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NASA's NPP Launch from Afar
Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
NASA's NPP climate and weather satellite roars into space on Oct. 28, 2011.
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Artist's Depiction of NPP in Orbit
Credit: NASA
NASA's NPP satellite — short for National polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite system Preparatory Project — is slated to blast off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Oct. 28, 2011.
NPP is the first satellite designed to collect data for both short-term weather forecasting and long-term climate monitoring. It will also lay the foundation for more advanced future Earth-observing craft, researchers say.
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Launch of NASA's NPP Satellite
Credit: NASA TV
NASA's NPP climate and weather satellite launches atop a Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in the predawn hours of Oct. 28, 2011.
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NPP Booster Separation
Credit: NASA TV
As NASA's NPP climate and weather satellite streaks into space on Oct. 28, 2011, two solid rocket boosters fall away from its Delta 2 rocket.
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NPP Satellite in Electro Magnetic Interference Chamber
Credit: NASA/Ball Aerospace
NASA's NPP climate and weather satellite undergoes electro magnetic interference testing at a Ball Aerospace facility.
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NPP After EMI Testing
Credit: NASA
The NPP satellite sits in a cleanroom after electro magnetic interference testing.
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NPP After Thermal Vacuum Testing
Credit: Ball Aerospace
Technicians inspect the nadir deck of the NPP spacecraft following thermal vacuum testing.
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NPP's Delta 2 Rocket Arrives at Vandenberg Air Force Base
Credit: NASA/VAFB
At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the first stage of a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket that will carry the NPP satellite into space is shown on its way from NASA Hangar 836 to NASA's Launch Complex-2.
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NPP Satellite Takes Best Earth Photo Ever
Credit: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring
A 'Blue Marble' image of the Earth taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA's most recently launched Earth-observing satellite - Suomi NPP. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth's surface taken on Jan. 4, 2012. The NPP satellite was renamed 'Suomi NPP' on January 24, 2012 to honor the late Verner E. Suomi of the University of Wisconsin.
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NPP's Rocketdyne Engine
Credit: NASA/VAFB, Mark Mackley
The first stage of the Delta 2 rocket that will launch NASA's NPP satellite is lowered into place at the Space Launch Complex-2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Seen here in red is the Rocketdyne engine that will help loft the rocket off the pad.
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Lifting a Solid Rocket Motor for NPP's Delta 2
Credit: NASA/VAFB, Dan Liberotti
At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians use a crane to lift a solid rocket motor for the Delta 2 rocket that will carry NASA's NPP satellite.
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NPP's Solid Rocket Motor
Credit: NASA/VAFB, Dan Liberotti
At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians monitor the progress as a crane lifts a solid rocket motor into position for attachment to the Delta 2 rocket that will carry NASA's NPP satellite to orbit.
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NPP's Solid Rocket Motor Arrives at Vandenberg Air Force Base
Credit: NASA/VAFB, Mark Mackley
At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a solid rocket motor for the Delta 2 rocket that will carry NASA’s NPP satellite into space arrives at NASA’s Space Launch Complex-2.
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NPP's Delta 2 on the Pad
Credit: NASA/VAFB
The third stage of NPP's Delta 2 rocket, with several solid rocket motors attached, sits on the pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
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NPP Satellite in the Fairing
Credit: NASA/Mark P. Mackley, VAFB
Technicians monitor the movement of a section of the clamshell-shaped Delta payload fairing as it encloses NASA’s NPP spacecraft at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
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NPP Delta 2 Rollback
Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
The Delta II rocket with it's NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft payload is seen shortly after the service structure was rolled back on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. NPP is the first NASA satellite mission to address the challenge of acquiring a wide range of land, ocean, and atmospheric measurements for Earth system science while simultaneously preparing to address operational requirements for weather forecasting. NPP is scheduled to launch early Friday morning.
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NPP Delta 2 Launch
Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
A Delta 2 rocket launches with the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft payload from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. NPP is the first NASA satellite mission to address the challenge of acquiring a wide range of land, ocean, and atmospheric measurements for Earth system science while simultaneously preparing to address operational requirements for weather forecasting.
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NPP Delta 2 Launch 2
Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
A Delta 2 rocket launches with the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft payload from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. NPP is the first NASA satellite mission to address the challenge of acquiring a wide range of land, ocean, and atmospheric measurements for Earth system science while simultaneously preparing to address operational requirements for weather forecasting.
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NPP Delta 2 Launch 3
Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
A Delta 2 rocket launches with the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft payload from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. NPP is the first NASA satellite mission to address the challenge of acquiring a wide range of land, ocean, and atmospheric measurements for Earth system science while simultaneously preparing to address operational requirements for weather forecasting.
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NPP Satellite Launch Interview
Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi
Dr. Kathy Sullivan, center, Deputy Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and former NASA astronaut, is interviewed by a local television network at NOAA's Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Md. after the successful launch of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011.
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Officials Watch NPP Launch
Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi
NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, left, watches the launch of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Satellite Operations Center on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in Suitland, Md. U.S Congresswoman Donna Edwards, D-Md., is seen next to Garver.
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NPP Satellite Operations Facility
Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi
The Satellite Operations Facility of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is seen here minutes before the launch of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in Suitland, Md.
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Herbal Earth: Western Hemisphere
Credit: NASA/NOAA
The still image is a snapshot of the Earth created from a year’s worth of data from April 2012 to April 2013. Subtle differences in shades of green in this animation reflect vegetation conditions worldwide. High values of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, or NDVI, represent dense green functioning vegetation, and low NDVI values represent sparse green vegetation or vegetation under stress from limiting conditions, such as drought. This image was released June 19, 2013.
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Herbal Earth: Eastern Hemisphere
Credit: NASA/NOAA
Subtle differences in shades of green in this animation reflect vegetation conditions worldwide. High values of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, or NDVI, represent dense green functioning vegetation, and low NDVI values represent sparse green vegetation or vegetation under stress from limiting conditions, such as drought. The still image is a snapshot of the Earth created from a year’s worth of data from April 2012 to April 2013. This image was released June 19, 2013.
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Herbal Earth: Pacific Northwest
Credit: NASA/NOAA
The Rocky, Cascade, and Coast Mountain Ranges dominate the landscape of the Pacific Northwest in this image created June 11-17, 2012 from the Visible-Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership or Suomi NPP satellite, a partnership between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. This image was released June 19, 2013.
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Herbal Earth: Nile Delta
Credit: NASA/NOAA
Urbanized areas of northern Egypt are visible amidst the deserts of Egypt. The image captured July 9-15, 2012 also shows the Nile River, which provides life-sustaining water to the region. The image was created from the Visible-Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership or Suomi NPP satellite, a partnership between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. This image was released June 19, 2013.
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Herbal Earth: Florida Everglades
Credit: NASA/NOAA
A "river of grass" extending south of Lake Okeechobee shows how the area was modified by man with visible areas of dense agriculture, urban sprawl and water conservation areas delineated by a series of waterways that crisscross Southern Florida. The image was created March 18-24, 2013 from the Visible-Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership or Suomi NPP satellite, a partnership between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. This image was released June 19, 2013.
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Herbal Earth
Credit: NASA/NOAA
Subtle vegetation changes are visible in this year-long visualization. Large-scale patterns vary with seasons, but the local variations in green are also sensitive precipitation, drought and fire. High values of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, or NDVI, represent dense green functioning vegetation and low NDVI values represent sparse green vegetation or vegetation under stress from limiting conditions, such as drought. This image was released June 19, 2013.
