Air Force approves ORS-8 weather support mission

The Air Force recently approved an Operationally Responsive Space mission that will launch a small satellite to address a critical gap in military weather capability.

Lt. Col. Shahnaz Punjani, director of the Operationally Responsive Space office, told Inside the Air Force March 6 the ORS-8 mission was approved Feb. 24.

The satellite will provide cloud characterization coverage and will inform the service's approach to developing the Weather System Follow-On program. It will also supplement and potentially provide a backup capability for the legacy Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.