NASA on Monday said it chose Elon Musk‘s SpaceX to provide launch service for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System 4 mission (JPSS 4) expected to be launched in 2027.
What Happened: The new contract between NASA and SpaceX is valued at about $112.7 million, including launch services and other mission-related costs.
The mission is expected to be launched in 2027 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
The JPSS 4 mission spacecraft is part of the multi-satellite cooperative Joint Polar Satellite System program. The constellation collects data that allows for continuous observation of Earth’s environment.
“The Joint Polar Satellite System 4 (JPSS 4) combined with the GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites) constellation, account for nearly all of the data used by meteorologists in creating daily forecasts and long-range weather models across the U.S.,” SpaceX said.
Why It Matters: NASA and SpaceX are bound by several contracts.
NASA chose SpaceX to develop and deliver the U.S. Deorbit vehicle (USDV) to deorbit the International Space Station (ISS) and ensure a lack of risk to populated areas in late June. SpaceX will develop the deorbit spacecraft under the contract valued at $843 million and NASA will take ownership afterward and operate it through the mission.
NASA is also relying on the success of SpaceX's Starship launch vehicle to land humans back on the moon as part of its Artemis program. A lander version of the Starship is expected to land astronauts on the Moon no earlier than September 2026 as part of Artemis 3.
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