By Laura E.P. Rocchio

As of Dec. 6, 2017, Landsat 9 has entered its implementation phase, or “Phase C” of its project lifecycle after successfully passing Key Decision Point C (KDP-C). The Landsat 9 project team garnered high praise from NASA Headquarters’ Agency Program Management Council (or APMC) for the project’s exemplary mission formulation performance and for the lockstep collaboration with its partner agency, the U.S. Geologic Survey.

“It is rare for a project to come to the APMC with such a successful story and incredibly clean status for KDP-C,” said Del Jenstrom, the Landsat 9 Project Manager. “The stellar progress being made on all elements of the project by our combined government and contractor team was clearly on display.”

The implementation phase of the Landsat 9 project lifecycle will be dominated by the fabrication and testing of the Landsat 9 instruments and spacecraft; this phase will last approximately 24 months and will be followed by the observatory integration phase.
Landsat 9 remains on track for its aggressive December 2020 launch date.