The merging of the US and European polar environmental satellite programs and its impact on NOAA

The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is responsible for the establishment and administration of funding for civil operational environmental satellite systems. As part of its planning to transition to a fully integrated international satellite system, NOAA entered into an agreement with the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Studies (EUMETSAT) for participation in Initial Joint Polar System (IJPS). In the IJPS Agreement, NOAA and EUMETSAT agree to operate their polar-orbiting satellites in a manner beneficial to both parties, as well as the world´s meteorological community. The IJPS system allows NOAA to process and distribute the EUMETSAT satellite information as the NOAA morning operational satellite