NASA Awards Global Precipitation Measurement Microwave Imager

WASHINGTON -- NASA has awarded a sole source contract to Ball
Aerospace and Technology Corp. of Boulder, Colo., for the Global
Precipitation Measurement Microwave Imager instrument Flight Unit 2.

The Global Precipitation Measurement, or GPM, mission will use an
international constellation of satellites to study global rain, snow
and ice to better understand our climate, weather, and
hydrometeorological processes.

Under this contract, Ball Aerospace and Technology will manufacture,
test and deliver the GMI instrument Flight Unit 2, support instrument
integration on the spacecraft and provide launch and post-launch
support. The GMI Flight Unit 2 will be identical to the GMI Flight
Unit 1 and will be manufactured in series with GMI 1. GMI 1 is
scheduled to fly in 2013 on the GPM Core Observatory.

This is a cost-plus-award fee, incentive fee contract in the amount of
approximately $48.5 million with a period of performance from Oct. 9,
2009, through March 31, 2016.

The GMI instrument, a multi-channel, conical-scanning, microwave
radiometer, will measure Earth's atmospheric moisture with
near-global coverage. The GMI Flight Unit 2 is planned to fly on a
GPM partner-provided spacecraft in a low-inclination orbit as part of
the GPM constellation with a targeted launch date of 2014. It will
contribute to GPM by enhancing monitoring of hurricanes and
mid-latitude storms and improving estimates of rainfall accumulation.

For more information about GPM, visit:

http://gpm.gsfc.nasa.gov

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

Source: NASA