Upcoming Mission
QuickSounder
Mission Details
Mission Summary
Firefly was awarded a NASA Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) contract to launch the QuickSounder environmental satellite on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This collaborative mission between NASA and NOAA is the first project supporting NOAA’s new Near Earth Orbit Network (NEON) program – the next generation environmental satellite system that will supplement and eventually replace NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System. Following Firefly’s first NASA VCLS launch of eight CubeSats in 2024, this mission will be Firefly’s second Alpha launch for the agency.
Payload
Developed by the Southwest Research Institute, QuickSounder is the first environmental satellite to launch as part of NEON. QuickSounder will carry NOAA’s Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) instrument that provides critical information about Earth’s atmosphere, such as temperature and moisture, within just 30 minutes of data collection to significantly improve NOAA’s weather prediction models for fires, floods, droughts, and more.
