NASA Awards Infrared Sounder Contract For First JPSS Spacecraft

WASHINGTON -- NASA, on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has awarded a sole source contract to ITT Corporation of Ft. Wayne, Ind. The award is for the Cross-track
Infrared Sounder (CrIS) instrument planned for flight on the first
Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1) in 2014.

JPSS is the restructured civilian portion of the National
Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS).
This includes the satellites and sensors supporting civil weather and
climate measurements and a shared ground infrastructure with the
Department of Defense weather satellite system.

NASA is the procurement agent for these assets, and the agency's
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., is the lead for
acquisition for the program. This is a cost-reimbursement contract of
approximately $98.6 million, with a period of performance through September 2014.

Under this contract, ITT will manufacture, test and deliver the CrIS,
support instrument integration on JPSS-1, and provide launch and
post-launch support. The instrument will be identical to the CrIS
planned for flight on the NPOESS Preparatory Project mission.

CrIS is the first in a series of advanced operational instruments that
will provide detailed atmospheric temperature and moisture
observations for weather and climate applications. This high-spectral
resolution infrared instrument will measure atmospheric temperatures,
water vapor and trace gases. Forecasters use the data in computer
models to improve global and regional predictions of weather
patterns, storm tracks and precipitation. This information will
significantly improve climate prediction and short- and long-term
weather forecasting.

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http://www.nasa.gov

Source: NASA