The NASA/NOAA NPP spacecraft launched successfully on October 28th. Activation of the sensor suite is continuing, however a milestone was reached last week when the VIIRS nadir door was opened for the first time, and acquired its first measurements on Nov. 21, 2011. The high-resolution image is of a broad swath of Eastern North America from Canada’s Hudson Bay past Florida to the northern coast of Venezuela. The VIIRS data were processed at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility (NSOF) in Suitland, Md.

Routine direct broadcast from NPP will begin on January 11, 2012.

Further information available on the official NASA website: