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Firefly Alpha Block 2 | QuickSounder

QuickSounder

To Be Determined

Launch Details

Date: 30 Sept 2026, 12:00 am UTC

Rocket: Firefly Alpha Block 2 (Firefly Alpha)

Provider: Firefly Aerospace

Mission

Type: Earth Science

Orbit: Sun-Synchronous Orbit

Pad: Space Launch Complex 2W, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Mission Description

QuickSounder is the first satellite mission of the Near Earth Orbit Network (NEON) program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which aims to replace the current Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) series of polar orbit weather satellites. This pathfinder mission will demonstrate NOAA's ability to launch a small satellite within 3 years, flying a refurbished Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) instrument to polar orbit.