CERES FM-5 on the NPP spacecraft: continuing the Earth radiation budget climate data record

The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Flight Model-5 (FM-5) instrument will fly on the NPOESS Preparatory Project spacecraft, which has a launch-readiness date of no earlier than June, 2010. This mission continues the critical Earth Radiation Budget Climate Data Record begun by the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment instruments in the mid 1980's and continued by the CERES instruments currently flying on the Terra and Aqua spacecraft. This paper outlines lessons learned on the existing CERES instruments from 30+ years of flight experience and presents a radiometric protocol to ensure that the FM-5 instrument performance exceeds the calibration and stability goals.

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