JPSS-1 xDR Requirements Verification: Pre-Launch to Post-Launch Plans

The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Preparatory project will launch its first JPSS-1 satellite in early 2017. The JPSS-1 and follow-on satellites will host an array of instruments including the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS), the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS), and the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS). These instruments are similar to the instruments currently operating on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite, a predecessor designed to bridge for the JPSS constellation. Algorithms to process JPSS-1 instrument data into xDR products such as Raw Data Records (RDRs), Sensor Data Records (SDRs), and Environmental Data Records (EDRs) have been developed based on the experience gained through the S-NPP algorithms. Optimizations are also being performed on J1-Uppers, which account for future improvements to the instruments on JPSS-1 to produce additional or improved data products. These algorithms will be in operations through either the Interface Data Processing Segment (IDPS) or NPOESS Data Exploration (NDE). Once these xDR products are verified to meet the requirements, they will provide continuity of capabilities for operational remote sensing of weather, climate and other environmental applications. To achieve this overarching goal, the JPSS program office in association with the xDR product development and calibration/validation (Cal/Val) teams has set up a Cal/Val activity plan using pre-launch test data sets and post-launch validation data sets. This paper presents an overview of the JPSS Cal/Val activities and science verification plans for the xDR requirements. This overview includes a discussion on the pre-launch test data sets, schedules, and their utility towards the pre-launch set-up of algorithms, as well as a discussion on synthetic/proxy data sets generated from S-NPP observations and their utility in optimizing the xDR algorithms. Lessons learned from the S-NPP post-launch product validations, proposed post-launch xDR product validation plans, and schedules for JPSS-1 are also discussed in this paper.