New SpectraSensors System to Help Commercial and General Aviation Pilots Reroute Around Bad Weather, Increase Public Safety, and Save Money for Domestic and International Airlines

Business Wire, June 27, 2005

SAN DIMAS, Calif. -- Advanced Water Vapor Sensing Technology Spun off From NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory Enables Continuous, More Accurate National Weather Service Computer Models and Forecasts

SpectraSensors, Inc., a high technology spin-off of the NASA/Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), announced the successful completion of tests of its WVSS-II, a new Water Vapor Sensing System that will contribute to continuous, more accurate weather forecasting. Since bad weather accounts for more than $1 billion in passenger airline and airfreight carrier losses annually, WVSS-II will help this vital industry improve its efficiency and services. Also benefiting will be international travelers, public safety overall, and thousands of corporate and private aircraft operating out of hundreds of general aviation airports nationally.

Tests matched current water vapor measurement methods

The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Forecast System Laboratory confirmed consistency among soundings from WVSS-II equipped aircraft and sensor data gathered from radiosonde weather balloons. Water vapor measurement is key to accurate weather modeling and forecasting because of its volatility and its role in spawning unexpected turbulence, wind shears, fog and thunderstorms. Commercial aircraft routinely measure wind and temperature but the third important component -- water vapor measurements -- occurs only in 12-hour intervals from NWS radiosonde weather balloons launched from 70 national sites.

Government/Private Sector Partnership

Under the supervision of the FAA that certified the product, WVSS-II test systems were installed on twenty-five UPS Boeing 757 aircraft operating out of Louisville, Kentucky, between January and June 2005. The tests were the latest phase of a research and development partnership consisting of SpectraSensors, UCAR (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research), the FAA, UPS, and the climate research side of NOAA. The National Weather Service and the FAA funded the UPS test program.

George Balogh, SpectraSensors CEO, said, "The FAA estimates that bad weather costs the aviation industry more than $1 billion annually. SpectraSensors' solution is a combination of our patented tunable diode-laser spectroscopy -- a proven water vapor sensing technology developed by JPL over a period of 15 years -- and an air-sampling device licensed from UCAR. Thousands of aircraft in the near future will be able to provide comprehensive domestic and international coverage. The payoff: huge savings for the airline industry, increased public safety, better weather maps by NOAA and valuable real time data for civil defense and Homeland Security."

About SpectraSensors

SpectraSensors, Inc. headquartered in San Dimas, California, was incorporated in 1999, as a technology spin-off of the NASA/Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The company is a leading manufacturer of optically based gas sensors for the industrial process and environmental monitoring markets. Typical applications include non-contact measurement of moisture, carbon dioxide, and other corrosives in natural gas pipelines (Energy Market), industrial process monitoring (Petrochemical), arsenic and other impurities in drinking water (Water Purity), and airborne water vapor and other atmospheric measurements from commercial aircraft for the U.S. and International Weather Services (Atmospheric). More information: www.spectrasensors.com.

SpectraSensors, Inc.
972 N. Amelia Avenue
San Dimas, CA 91773
Tel: 909-542-0394
Fax: 909-542-0402

www.spectrasensors.com