Orbital ATK Achieves Major Development Milestone for Joint Polar Satellite System Program
December 01 2017 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Next-Generation Weather Satellite is on
Schedule for Completion in 2020
Orbital ATK (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense
technologies, today announced significant progress on the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite
System (JPSS) spacecraft program. The JPSS-2 spacecraft will host
instruments that provide essential operational space-based weather
observations for NOAA, extending the successful 50-year NOAA/NASA
partnership into the next two decades.
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The JPSS-2 spacecraft is on schedule for
completion in 2020. (Photo: Business Wire)
Representatives from NASA, NOAA and Orbital ATK recently
completed a successful spacecraft Critical Design Review (CDR) for
JPSS-2, which demonstrated that the program met all system and
schedule requirements. Also evaluated was Orbital ATK’s
responsibility for integrating five government-furnished
instruments, and supporting the launch, early operations, and
on-orbit satellite check-out prior to handing operations over to
NOAA.
“The successful conclusion of the JPSS-2 Spacecraft CDR marks a
key milestone for the program and keeps the JPSS-2 spacecraft on
track for an on-time delivery,” said Steve Krein, Vice President of
Science and Environmental Programs at Orbital ATK. “While building
a space-based weather observation satellite is a new mission area
for us, it will be manufactured on a flight proven platform that
demonstrates the success of Orbital ATK’s current science and
environmental satellites that already provide critical data to our
customers.”
The contract with NASA was awarded to Orbital ATK for the
delivery of JPSS-2 and includes options for two additional
satellites, JPSS-3 and JPSS-4. The company is responsible for the
design, manufacturing and testing of the JPSS-2 satellite which is
scheduled to be completed in 2020 at the company’s satellite
manufacturing facility in Gilbert, Arizona.
While Orbital ATK has manufactured a wide variety of Earth
science, commercial imaging and defense satellites, JPSS-2 will be
the first operational weather spacecraft produced by the company.
The spacecraft is based on Orbital ATK’s LEOStar-3 bus, a
flight-proven flexible satellite platform that can accommodate a
variety of missions, including Landsat-9 and ICESat-2, both
currently in production by the company. Built to support long-life
missions, this modular design incorporates improvements and
upgrades from Orbital ATK's prior bus developments that resulted in
numerous highly successful missions.
The JPSS-2 satellite will join a constellation of satellites,
including the joint NOAA-NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting
Partnership (Suomi NPP) and NOAA’s JPSS-1, which gather global
measurements of atmospheric, terrestrial and oceanic conditions.
During the required seven-year design life, JPSS-2 will deliver
observations essential for accurate forecasting up to seven days
ahead of severe weather like hurricanes, tornadoes and blizzards.
The data collected will also be used to assess environmental
hazards such as sea ice, floods, volcanic ash, wild fires and poor
air quality. The result is timely and accurate public forecasts
that reduce the potential loss of life and property and minimize
economic impact around the world.
About Orbital ATK
Orbital ATK is a global leader in aerospace and defense
technologies. The company designs, builds and delivers space,
defense and aviation systems for customers around the world, both
as a prime contractor and merchant supplier. Its main products
include launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; missile
products, subsystems and defense electronics; precision weapons,
armament systems and ammunition; satellites and associated space
components and services; and advanced aerospace structures.
Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, Orbital ATK employs
approximately 13,000 people across the U.S. and in several
international locations. For more information, visit
www.orbitalatk.com.
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Orbital ATKMedia Contact:Kristen Basham,
703-404-7476Group Lead Public
Relationskristen.basham@orbitalatk.comorInvestor
Contact:Barron Beneski, 703-406-5528Public and Investor
Relationsbarron.beneski@orbitalatk.com
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