The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) signed a Memorandum of Agreement in November 1998 for participation in the Initial Joint Polar System (IJPS). The IJPS is a cooperative effort between the United States and the Europeans to share responsibility for polar satellite operations and to provide the continuity of observations from polar-orbiting satellites for operational meteorological and environmental objectives.

The IJPS consists of two independent, but fully coordinated, polar satellite systems. In support of the IJPS, NOAA satellites NOAA-N and -N' will be flown in a polar orbit with an afternoon (P.M.) equatorial crossing time. EUMETSAT, working together with the European Space Agency (ESA), will develop the Meteorological Operational (MetOp) series of satellites to be flown in a polar orbit with a mid-morning (A.M.) equatorial crossing time. The mid-morning and afternoon satellites will each carry a set of jointly provided common instruments, plus additional instruments specific to each orbit and operating agency. Through the use of these satellites, NOAA and EUMETSAT will support the generation of products and services for their respective user communities. This paper will focus on NOAA's product processing plans in the IJPS era and areas of opportunity provided from new sensors aboard MetOp.