Cryocoolers for Sensors on Two International Weather Satellites
February 3, 2010
Advanced ITT Sensors Will Provide Improved Data for Meteorologists
REDONDO BEACH, Calif. - Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been selected by ITT Corporation (NYSE:ITT) to provide flight cryocoolers for the sensor payloads for two international weather satellites. The geostationary satellites will provide round-the-clock weather forecasts and severe weather alerts. Cryocoolers are used to reduce thermal noise in space-based sensors.
The Northrop Grumman cooler design is based on the
flight-proven High Efficiency Cryocooler (HEC) pulse tube cooler and
will maintain the international satellites’ infrared detectors and
optics at cryogenic temperatures for more than 8 years. The ITT sensor
payloads will be based on the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) that ITT
is currently building for the Geostationary Operational Environmental
Satellite-R-series, or GOES-R, for NOAA’s next-generation geostationary
constellation. This improved imager has the capability to monitor three
times the number of atmospheric events when compared to current
generation payloads.
“With 16 cryocoolers now in orbit, two operating continuously
for more than 11 years, our heritage cryocoolers and electronics are
demonstrating unmatched reliability and performance in space,” said
Mark Folkman, director of Products and Sensing for Northrop Grumman
Aerospace Systems. This contract marks the third time a Northrop
Grumman cryocooler will have supported an international weather/climate
satellite.
A world leader in long life, high-reliability cryocoolers for
space applications, Northrop Grumman continues to enable sensor
performance for critical weather, climate, and science missions. Since
1998, more than 90% of the U.S. manufactured long-life pulse tube or
Stirling cryocoolers in space have been Northrop Grumman-built. Several
Northrop Grumman cryocoolers have exceeded their on-orbit performance
requirements, in some cases extending mission life beyond 10 years.
"ITT is proud to build meteorological payloads that help save
lives and protect property around the world, and we welcome Northrop
Grumman to the team that’s creating this extraordinary meteorological
instrument,” said Rob Mitrevski, vice president for Commercial and
Space Science programs, ITT Space Systems Division.
ITT Corporation is a high-technology engineering and
manufacturing company operating on all seven continents in three vital
markets: water and fluids management, global defense and security, and
motion and flow control. With a heritage of innovation, ITT partners
with its customers to deliver extraordinary solutions that create more
livable environments, provide protection and safety and connect our
world.
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