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	Director, Operational Test & Evaluation
FY97 Annual Report

NATIONAL POLAR-ORBITING OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE SYSTEM (NPOESS)

	Air Force ACAT ID Program 5 satellites Total program cost (TY$) $5333M Average unit cost (TY$) $863M Full-rate production 1QFY11 Prime Contractor TBD

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION & CONTRIBUTION TO JOINT VISION 2010

The National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) is a Tri-Agency program jointly administered by DoD, the Department of Commerce, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and is being acquired under U.S. Air Force acquisition authority. NPOESS will provide a national remote sensing capability to acquire and disseminate global and regional environmental data for a period of at least 10 years after IOC. These data include cloud cover imagery as well as other specialized meteorological, climatic, terrestrial, oceanographic, and solar-geophysical data.

For military users, NPOESS will provide an enduring capability to receive and disseminate global and regional meteorological, environmental, and associated data at varying update rates depending on the military needs. These data shall include, but are not limited to, cloud imagery, atmospheric temperature and moisture, and solar-geophysical data, as well as a search and rescue capability to support worldwide military operations. NPOESS will provide the warfighter with the information superiority needed to execute the operational concept of dominant maneuver. NPOESS will enhance our forces'ability to plan and execute mobile air, land, and sea operations throughout a large spectrum of challenging environmental conditions and within the enemy's decision cycle.

NPOESS contains the following segments:

• The Space segment comprises satellite platforms containing sensors, which will collect, store, and downlink data to the C³ segment. The satellites will selectively download all data to ground stations as well as provide continuous downlink of data for receipt by worldwide deployed DoD field units.
• The Launch Support segment comprises launch facilities and support equipment. NPOESS is expected to operate in a sun-synchronous, near-polar orbit between 750 km and 1200 km in altitude.
• The C³ segment includes all functions required for day-to-day state-of-health monitoring of all operating spacecraft and supports the delivery of data to the designated primary terminals known as Centrals.
• The Interface Data Processor (IDP) segment comprises data processing functions for two subcomponents, the Centrals, and the Field Terminals. Stored data will be delivered to the Centrals' Interface Data Processor component, via the C³ segment, as Raw Data Records. In addition, the spacecraft will provide real-time data directly to military Field Terminal components and surface receivers operated by worldwide weather services and other agencies.

The U.S. government currently operates and maintains two polar-orbiting meteorological satellite programs. The USAF operates the military's Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, while NOAA operates the POES program. To reduce the costs of acquiring and operating polar-orbiting satellites, a While House decision to integrate the two weather satellite programs into a single converged system was announced May 1994. This decision, as part of a National Performance Review recommendation, is expected to save the U.S. government up to an estimated $300M in the FY96-FY99 period with additional savings expected after FY99.

NPOESS OT&E will be a tri-agency operational test program, with AFOTEC acting as the lead test agency. The OT program will consist of operational assessments, combined DT and OT (DT/OT), and an end-to-end IOT&E of the military portions of the NPOESS system.

The operational assessments will be performed to evaluate system progress towards demonstrating operational effectiveness and suitability by reviewing program documentation, monitoring contractor activities, and reviewing developmental test data related to operational requirements. Throughout NPOESS development the operational testers will be involved in Integrated Product Teams (IPT), and will provide periodic updates of how the program is progressing to all IPT members.

Throughout the program, combined DT/OT will be used to minimize the time required for dedicated IOT&E and to reduce the design risk by providing an operational perspective as early as possible in the acquisition process. During combined system-level DT/OT, the system will be operated by typical users in an environment as operationally realistic as possible.

During dedicated IOT&E, the operational testers will conduct testing on production-representative hardware and software, supplemented as required with data from validated and accredited Modeling & Simulation. Such testing will use personnel trained and certified in NPOESS operations and maintenance who will exercise a combination of real-world events and scenarios.

An early operational assessment will be performed in FY99-FY00 in support of a Milestone III decision. This assessment will include reviewing applicable program documentation and support equipment requirements; monitoring contractors' activities; conducting modeling and simulation; and performing independent analysis. Other activities will include conducting OT&E on the DoD field terminals' IDP, performing operational assessments, and performing DoD mission-level IOT&E following an on-orbit checkout of a sufficient number of satellites.

The TEMP was approved in March 1997. NPOESS entered Phase 1, Program Definition and Risk Reduction, that same month.

No OT&E has been conducted on NPOESS. DOT&E continues to work with the test, development, and user communities in evolving an adequate test concept. Based on DOT&E's early involvement, however, our assessment is that NPOESS is proceeding towards fielding an effective and suitable system. The major challenges are the technical risks associated with new environmental sensor technology and management of a Tri-Agency operational test program.