Outlook 1. Ball Aerospace was awarded a $255.4 million contract in November 2018 to design and fabricate WSF-M1 2. USAF issued an RFI for WSF-E in November 2017, with launch planned for mid-2020s 3. USAF awarded a $93.7 million system design and risk reduction contract to Ball Aerospace for WSF-M in November 2017 Orientation Description. The U.S. Air Force operates polar-orbiting meteorological satellites to provide weather data to warfighters. The USAF currently operates Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft and will replace them with Weather System Follow-on (WSF) satellites. Sponsor. USAF Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles, is responsible for weather satellite procurement and satellite sensor integration. Status. Two DMSP satellites are operational. DMSPF17 launched in 2006 and DMSP F18 launched in 2009. The DoD is currently developing a series of WSF satellites to replace the DMSP satellites currently in orbit. Ball Aerospace is under contract to build the first spacecraft. Total Produced. Forty DMSP satellites of all types have been produced. Application. DMSP satellites provide meteorological, terrestrial, oceanographic, and solar-geophysical data for civilian and military users. Price Range. DMSP satellites cost approximately $130 million each. An additional $370 million was spent to store and refurbish the satellites. The NPOESS program was expected to cost more than $14 billion in total, with about $5 billion already spent. Developing, building, launching, and operating a defense weather satellite through 2037 will cost between $4.4 billion and $6.1 billion, based on a September 2012 estimate of the Congressional Budget Office.
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