NPP clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) predicted sensor performance calibration and preliminary data product performance

Continuation of the Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) Climate Data Record (CDR) has been identified as critical in the 2007 NRC Decadal Survey, the Global Climate Observing System WCRP report, and in an assessment titled ‘Impacts of NPOESS Nunn-McCurdy Certification on Joint NASA-NOAA Climate Goals’. In response, the final existing CERES Flight Model (FM-5) will fly on the NPP spacecraft for launch in 2010. The CERES FM-5 pre-flight radiometric characterization program has benefited from the operational experience of the CERES EOS sensors. Improvements to the pre-flight program included increased sampling under vacuum conditions and additional tests to characterize the primary and transfer standards in the calibration facility. Future opportunities for ERB CDR continuity consist of procuring an additional CERES Sensor with modest performance upgrades for flight on the NPOESS C1 spacecraft in 2013, followed by a new CERES follow-on sensor for flight in 2018 on the NPOESS C3 spacecraft.