Monday, 23 January 2012: 11:15 PM

A major milestone for Earth science research and operational weather forecasting was achieved when NASA's NPOESS Preparatory Project spacecraft lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 5:48 a.m. EDT on Oct. 28, 2011 and was successfully inserted into its sun-synchronous low-Earth orbit . Following the spectacular launch, NASA began activating and checking out the spacecraft and instruments to begin its Earth observation mission. The instruments on board NPP build on technologies and science advances made through the flights of the EOS Terra, Aqua, and Aura flight missions. They include a 22-channel multi-spectral imager, VIIRS, with MODIS and SeaWiFS heritage; a hyperspectral infrared and microwave sounding suite, CrIS and ATMS; hyperspectral limb and nadir ozone monitor and profiler suite, OMPS; and a cloud, climate, and Earth's radiation budget sensor, CERES. A joint panel of NPP science team members and instrument/spacecraft designers will present and discuss the on-orbit performance of NASA's NPP spacecraft and its Earth observing instrument payload.