30th Space Wing Defense Meteorlogical Satillite Program Atlas V

The DMSP F18 mission is the eighteenth DMSP installment. DMSP satellites provide strategic and
tactical weather prediction, which aids the U.S. military in planning operations at sea, on land, and
in the air. The satellites are equipped with a sophisticated sensor suite capable of imaging cloud
cover in visible and infrared light and measuring precipitation, surface temperature, and soil moisture. The DMSP spacecraft can collect this specialized global meteorological, oceanographic, and
solar-geophysical information in all weather conditions. The current constellation is comprised of
two spacecraft in sun-synchronous, near-polar orbits. Launched in October 2009.