The Defense Weather Satellite System (DWSS) is a United States Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

 weather

Weather

Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...

 satellite

Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....

 system to be built by Northrop Grumman Corporation  projected for launch in 2018. DWSS is a follow-on for the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program

The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program monitors meteorological, oceanographic, and solar-terrestrial physics for the United States Department of Defense. The program is now run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The mission of the satellites was revealed in March 1973...

 (DMSP) mission. DWSS and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)

Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)

Joint Polar Satellite System is the latest generation of U.S. polar-orbiting, non-geosynchronous, environmental satellites. JPSS will provide the global environmental data used in numerical weather prediction models for forecasts, and scientific data used for climate monitoring. JPSS will aid in...

 projects were created when the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) project was terminated. DWSS will utilize the accomplishments and momentum of the NPOESS program.