NASA has awarded ITT Industries’
Aerospace/Communications Division an $8 million contract for formulation phase
work on an advanced imager for the next generation of geostationary weather
satellites operated and funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA).
The new Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) will be a primary instrument on
NOAA’s future Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES)
beginning with the GOES-R mission in 2008. The ABI will view the Earth from a
22,300-mile orbit over the equator gathering critical weather data for use by
the National Weather Service for routine and severe storm forecasts.
ITT Industries’ Imagers have a long history of service with NOAA starting
with the TIROS weather satellites. Evolutionary changes to the sensors are
flying on board the current GOES spacecraft as well as the Low Earth Orbit
POES satellites. Similar instruments being produced by ITT will also be
critical to both the European and Japanese weather forecasting systems.
The ABI is an advanced version of the current series of GOES Imagers, but
will have a greater number of channels, improved spatial resolution and faster
Earth coverage rates to provide more accurate measurements that will improve
forecasts of hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and other severe weather.
ITT’s Industries’ possessive partners in this formulation work include
Boeing Missile Defense & Space Control’s Sensor & Electronic Systems Group,
Integral Systems Inc., SSG Precision Optronics, ASRC Aerospace Corporation,
and Kodak.
ITT Industries, Inc. (http://www.itt.com) supplies advanced technology
products and services in key markets including:
electronic interconnects and
switches; defense communications, opto-electronics, information technology and
services; fluid and water management and specialty products. Headquartered in
White Plains, New York, the company generated $4.8 billion in 2000 sales, and
employs approximately 42,000 people around the world.
In addition to the New York Stock Exchange, ITT Industries stock is traded
on the Midwest, Pacific, London, Paris and Frankfurt exchanges.
ITT Industries and its subsidiaries’ press releases are available at no
charge via fax and the Internet. To receive releases by fax, call
800-758-5804, extension 110006. For ITT Industries’ news on the Internet,
visit http://www.itt.com or http://www.prnewswire.com.