NOAA-20 VIIRS on-Orbit Calibration Improvements

The NOAA-20 (N-20) VIIRS has successfully operated for more than two years since its launch in November 2017. Shortly after completing its initial instrument check-outs and post-launch testing (PLT) activities, the N-20 VIIRS sensor data records (SDR) achieved the beta, provisional, and validated maturity status in January, February, and April 2018, respectively. In this paper, we briefly describe the instrument on-orbit operation and calibration activities, provide an overall assessment of its on-orbit performance, and discuss the methodologies developed to maintain and improve sensor calibration and data quality. As illustrated in this paper, the N-20 VIIRS continues to perform with excellent stability, allowing high-quality environmental data records (EDR) to be generated from its well-calibrated SDR.