# Suomi NPP
*missions*

Suomi NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership) is a U.S. NOAA/NASA bridge mission between the legacy POES system and the Joint Polar Satellite System. Launched 28 October 2011 on a Ball Aerospace BCP-2000 bus, it flies a 833.7 km sun-synchronous orbit. Carries five instruments: ATMS, VIIRS, CrIS, OMPS, and CERES. Original design life was 5 years; satellite continues to operate in 2026 in extended mission. CrIS MWIR bands failed July 2021.

## Specifications
- **operator**: noaa
- **actual launch**: 2011-10-28
- **current status**: extended
- **orbit type**: sun-synchronous
- **orbit altitude km**: 834
- **orbit inclination deg**: 98.79
- **orbit period min**: 101.44
- **entity type**: mission
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-11
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: agency-sourced
- **provider**: noaa
- **attributes**: {"summary":"Suomi NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership) is a U.S. NOAA/NASA bridge mission between the legacy POES system and the Joint Polar Satellite System. Launched 28 October 2011 on a Ball Aerospace BCP-2000 bus, it flies a 833.7 km sun-synchronous orbit. Carries five instruments: ATMS, VIIRS, CrIS, OMPS, and CERES. Original design life was 5 years; satellite continues to operate in 2026 in extended mission. CrIS MWIR bands failed July 2021.","operator":"noaa","actual_launch":"2011-10-28","current_status":"extended","orbit_type":"sun-synchronous","orbit_altitude_km":834,"orbit_inclination_deg":98.79,"orbit_period_min":101.44}
- **relevance**: in-scope

## Editorial
Suomi NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership) is a U.S. NOAA and NASA bridge mission that provided continuity between the legacy POES (Polar Operational Environmental Satellites) system and the Joint Polar Satellite System. The spacecraft was built on a Ball Aerospace BCP-2000 bus and launched 28 October 2011. It operates in a sun-synchronous orbit at approximately 833.7 km altitude with an inclination of 98.79 degrees and an orbital period of approximately 101.44 minutes.[^wiki-suomi-npp][^eoportal-suomi-npp]

Suomi NPP carries five instruments: ATMS (Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder), VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite), CrIS (Cross-track Infrared Sounder), OMPS (Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite), and CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System). The CrIS medium-wave infrared (MWIR) spectral bands failed in July 2021; ATMS and the other instruments continue operating.[^wiki-suomi-npp][^eoportal-suomi-npp]

The satellite's original design life was five years. As of 2026 it remains in extended mission, providing supplementary NWP data alongside NOAA-20 and NOAA-21 within the JPSS constellation.[^nesdis-jpss]

## Compositional position
- Suomi NPP --[mission_payloads]--> atms (products)
- nasa-black-marble-vnp46 (data_products) --[related]--> Suomi NPP
- world-bank-light-every-night (data_products) --[related]--> Suomi NPP

## Sources
- [wiki-suomi-npp] | Suomi NPP, Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suomi_NPP | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-11
- [eoportal-suomi-npp] | Suomi NPP mission overview, eoPortal | https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/suomi-npp | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-11
- [nesdis-jpss] | JPSS Programme Office, NESDIS | https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/our-offices/joint-polar-satellite-system-jpss-program-office | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-11

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/missions/suomi-npp
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)