Overview of the Conical Microwave Imager/Sounder development for the NPOESS program

The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) is the converged weather satellite program for the US Department of Defense and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The authors provide an overview of the NPOESS program to include its planned acquisition strategy and schedule to the first availability. The conical Microwave Imager/Sounder (CMIS) instrument development is discussed, including a brief history and evolution of MPFT sounders and conically scanning imagers leading up to the CMIS. Specific performance requirements for the CMIS system are presented and compared with previous spaceborne microwave sounders and imagers, finally, the sensor and environmental data products derived from CMIS are reviewed