The first weather satellite was purchased in 2018 and will launch in 2024. Recently, the U.S. Space Force ordered a second weather satellite also known as the Weather System Follow-on Microwave (WSF-M), produced by Ball Aerospace.
On Nov. 9th, the Space Force announced it award Ball Aerospace a $78.2 million contract which is the second WSF-M satellite that would launch in 2028. Ball Aerospace has received awards worth about $417.3 million for WSF-M while each satellite is estimated to cost $511 million.
WSF-M has a microwave imager instrument to collect weather data of ocean surface wind speed and direction, ice thickness, snow depth, soil moisture and local space weather. It will provide U.S. and its allies with essential weather data for military use on mission planning and operations globally.