TRW Marks Milestone on EOS-PM Spacecraft Program With Delivery of First Science Payload Instrument

Business Wire, Jan 21, 1999

REDONDO BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 21, 1999--TRW Inc. marked a major milestone in the buildup of NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS-PM) satellite with the delivery in December of the first science payload instrument.

The Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A) is a microwave radiometer that will provide atmospheric temperature measurements from the Earth's surface. AMSU-A was built by Aerojet, a segment of GenCorp., under contract with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and is an advanced version of an instrument that has been gathering environment data from space for more than a decade.

Combined with data from two other EOS-PM instruments, the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and the Humidity Sounder for Brazil (HSB), AMSU-A will provide improved measurements of atmospheric water vapor, temperature, clouds, and the Earth's land and ocean skin surface temperature.

"This delivery is another step in the internationally important EOS PM program," said Brooks Vogt, TRW's EOS program manager. "We are committed to the continued success of this program and to demonstrating that it is the most cost-effective way to obtain critical environmental data."

Vogt continued, "Data retrieved from the AMSU-A and its complementary instruments will help to improve global modeling and weather forecasting efforts. Teams of scientists from around the country are organized and eager to work with data that will come from these instruments."

AMSU-A is one of six science payload instruments that will be integrated into the EOS-PM spacecraft this year. The other instruments include AIRS, HSB, two Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments, the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS (AMSR) and the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).

TRW is building two low-Earth-orbiting satellites and integrating four to six NASA-provided Earth-observing instruments onto each satellite under the EOS Common Spacecraft program. The satellites are based on a common or standardized bus design that can accommodate the instruments needed to perform the different EOS missions.

The common spacecraft are designed for launch on Delta-class vehicles. Both PM and CHEM flight hardware is in manufacture.

The first satellite, EOS-PM, will focus on climate-related measurements of the Earth's atmosphere, cloud cover, precipitation, terrestrial snow cover and sea ice. EOS-PM's six-year mission is scheduled to begin in December 2000.

The second satellite, EOS-Chemistry also has a six-year mission life and will measure chemicals in the Earth's atmosphere. It is scheduled for launch in December 2002.

Both EOS satellites will be placed into a polar, sun-synchronous orbit. Sun-synchronous means that a satellite passes over a selected point on Earth at the same local time every day. This allows scientists to observe and collect data on environmental phenomena with the same relative conditions of daylight.

EOS is the centerpiece of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, a long-term coordinated program to study the Earth as a single, global environment. Earth science data is already being used to study the connections among the Earth's air, water, land and life. EOS will greatly expand its scope, with benefits ranging from improved long-term weather forecasting to improved management of agricultural resources.

TRW Space & Electronics Group builds communications, scientific and defense spacecraft; produces, integrates and tests payloads; develops advanced space instruments and integrates experiments into spacecraft.

It is an operating unit of TRW Inc., which provides advanced technology products and services for the automotive, space and defense, and information technology markets worldwide. TRW's 1997 sales totaled nearly $12 billion.