D
SpaceUnited States

Weather System Follow-on – Microwave (WSF-M)

Military weather satellitesIn serviceFielded 2025Pending verification
SpaceUSA
Identification silhouette. Not drawn to scale between entries.
Fact cardConfidence · Source
System
TypeMilitary weather satellites
Date of introduction2025
ProliferationOrigin country only
Satellites1SV-1 launched 11 April 2024Med[1]
First launch2024Med[1]
ContractorsBall Aerospace (now BAE Systems)Med[1]
Program statusIOC 24 April 2025; SV-2 scheduled by end of 2026Med[1]
Dimensions and weight
Mass1,200 kg2,646 lb2,645 lb at launchMed[1]
Orbit
Orbit regimeLEO (sun-synchronous)Med[1]
Orbit altitude832 km517 miAbout 517 milesMed[1]
Catalogued on orbit1Payloads with current element sets in the public catalog, active or not.High[2]
Active (CelesTrak)1Count in the CelesTrak active satellites list, which estimates operational status.Med[2]
Perigee820 kmActive satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08.High[2]
Apogee825 kmActive satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08.High[2]
Orbital period101.4 minActive satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08.High[2]
Inclination98.72 °Active satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08.High[2]
Catalogued satellites · 1[2]
NameNORADCOSPARPerigee kmApogee kmIncl. °Period minStatus
WSF-M594812024-070A82082598.72101.4Active

Mean elements at epoch 2026-11-08 or later. Perigee and apogee are computed from mean motion and eccentricity and are approximate. Status follows the CelesTrak active list.

Summary

Microwave weather satellite replacing DMSP for ocean surface winds and other environmental data.

Draft entry. Values come from the cited public sources and are awaiting editor verification.
CompareJSON
Operators
United States
Sources
  1. Weather System Follow-On-Microwave (weapons and platforms entry), Air & Space Forces Magazine
    Tier 3 · checked 2026-11-08
  2. NORAD GP element sets (current data), CelesTrak (data from the U.S. Space Force 18th/19th Space Defense Squadron catalog)
    Published/updated 2026-11-08 · Tier 1 · checked 2026-11-08
Change log
  • 2026-11-08 Entry created from cited open sources
  • 2026-11-08 Orbital elements from CelesTrak GP data (epoch about 2026-11-08): 1 catalogued, 1 active.