General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems of Fairfax, Va., said Dec. 8 that it had completed the critical design review for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) satellite it is building for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The moderate-resolution land-imaging satellite is scheduled to launch in December 2012 from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.
NASA picked General Dynamics in April 2008 to design and build the LDCM satellite bus, integrate the government-furnished instruments, test the satellite before and after launch, and provide continuing engineering support under a contract worth $116 million.
LDCM’s main instrument is the Operational Land Imager, a 30-meter-resolution camera being built for Goddard by Boulder, Colo.-based Ball Aerospace & Technologies.
A spacecraft integration readiness review is scheduled for April.
