Update #2: In conjunction with the planned sunsetting of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) initiated by the program’s owner and following the steps of other program stakeholders, The Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) has announced plans to cease distribution data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F16, F17, F18 constellation effective July 31, 2025. At that time, NOAA will no longer be in receipt of the DMSP data and products. For more information regarding DMSP,  please reach out to Chief of Naval Information: CHINFONewsDesk@us.navy.mil

Update #1: IMPORTANT UPDATE FNMOC plans to cease DMSP processing no later than July 31, 2025.

Topic: Suspension of All Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Data by July 31, 2025

Date/Time Issued: July 1, 2025 1815 UTC

Product(s) or Data Impacted:  All Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) data and products: FINE, SMOOTH and HOUSEKEEPING data from Operational Linescan System (OLS), Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS), and all Near-Earth Space Weather instruments

Date/Time of Initial Impact: July 31, 2025 0000 UTC

Date/Time of Expected End: NA - Termination

Length of Outage:  See Details.

Details/Specifics of Change: 

Due to recent service changes, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and Navy’s Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) will discontinue ingesting, processing and distribution of all DMSP data to NOAA no later than July 31, 2025.  ESPC interfaces will not receive DMSP data and all data products will be suspended. Users should expect all FINE, SMOOTH and HOUSEKEEPING data from Operational Linescan System (OLS), Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS), and all Near-Earth Space Weather instruments to be terminated. This service change and termination will be permanent.

The DMSP is a single dataset in a robust suite of hurricane forecasting and modeling tools in the National Weather Service (NWS)  portfolio. The current models continue to include data from:

• GOES and other geostationary Earth-observing satellites

• Polar-orbiting satellites, including Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) and EUMETSAT MetOp

• Hurricane Hunter aircraft reconnaissance missions and other aircraft-based observations

• Observations on the ground and from buoys

• Radiosondes and supplemental upper air soundings

• Ground-based weather radar sites in the U.S. and neighboring countries

In particular, the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS), currently flying on NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) to include SNPP, NOAA-20, NOAA-21), provides the richest, most accurate satellite weather observations available. NOAA’s data sources are fully capable of providing a complete suite of cutting-edge data and models that ensure the gold-standard weather forecasting the American people deserve.

Congress voted to terminate the DMSP program as far back as 2015 and DMSP will be replaced by the Weather System Follow-on Microwave (WSF-M) and the Electro-Optical/Infrared Weather System (EWS).  DMSP satellites remain operational today but are more than a decade past their expected end of life. While the discontinuation of certain data streams from DMSP may seem alarming, the transition to WSF-M and EWS represents a modernization effort aimed at providing more resilient and enhanced environmental monitoring capabilities to improve our ability to understand and predict weather phenomena, including tropical cyclones. The first Weather System Follow-On – Microwave (WSF-M) satellite launched in 2024 and became operational in April 2025. WSF-M provides enhanced ocean surface vector wind and tropical cyclone intensity capabilities. WSF-M has reached initial operational capability (IOC) and initial data is being delivered to DoD users. The DoD is working towards full operational capability (FOC) which includes the technical work to send the data to NOAA as soon as possible. DoD users (including the Navy) will continue to receive and operationally use DMSP data sent to DoD weather satellite “direct readout terminals” across the DoD. 

Contact Information: For more information regarding Suspension of All Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), please reach out Chief of Naval Information: CHINFONewsDesk@us.navy.mil