DoD weather satellite program to cease data distribution on July 31

By Mia MacGregor

June 30 - (The Insurer) - The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), a key atmospheric data collection initiative run by the Department of Defense, will stop distributing data products to users on July 31, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

DMSP operates satellites that monitor meteorological, oceanographic and solar-terrestrial environments, supplying vital data to hurricane forecasters and meteorologists. This data allows them to penetrate cloud layers, analyze storm centers and assess storm risk.

The termination will include the Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS), all FINE, SMOOTH, and HOUSEKEEPING data from the Operational Linescan System (OLS), and all Near-Earth Space Weather instruments. NOAA stated that this change is permanent.

Monthly averaged SSM/I and SSMIS products, which include precipitation, cloud liquid water, total precipitable water, snow cover and sea-ice extent, are used to evaluate mean climate states and their interannual/seasonal variations, and to detect anomalies related to large-scale climatic events like El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Arctic Oscillation, according to NOAA.

NOAA's June 30 update stated that the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) initially planned to decommission the DMSP ingest system on June 30 to address significant cybersecurity risks to their High-Performance Computing environment.

However, at NASA's request, the processing and distribution of DMSP data will continue through July 31.

For over 50 years, the DMSP has provided global weather and space weather data for U.S. military operations.

Managed by the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, it enables military weather forecasters to detect developing weather patterns and track existing phenomena in remote areas, such as fog, severe thunderstorms, dust and sandstorms and tropical cyclones.

NOAA operates the DMSP satellites in partnership with the U.S. Air Force, with NOAA responsible for managing the ground systems development and overseeing the satellites daily operation.

This decision follows NOAA's recent discontinuation of Climate.gov, a platform dedicated to climate science data and insights.

It also coincides with NOAA's forecast of above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin for the 2025 season.