Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne helped scientists track fast-breaking storms and monitor climate change by boosting a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base today. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX – News) company, powered a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket with an RS-27A engine. It was the 226th flight boosted by the RS-27 family of engines to lift a satellite.
NOAA-N Prime is the last in a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites, and is equipped with search and rescue antennae that can relay information from emergency beacons to help people in distress aboard boats, aircraft and in remote areas. It is one of two polar-orbiting satellites that observe every part of the earth twice every 12 hours, gathering information on cloud formations, ozone concentrations, sea temperatures, and solar winds that could interrupt long-range communications.
“In a world where the weather can change from mild to severe in a moment’s notice, it’s imperative that communities be warned as early as possible to any potential dangers,” said Elizabeth Jones, RS-27 program manager, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. “We’re proud to help scientists in their mission to monitor the planet, protect our natural resources and assist people across the globe.”
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc., a part of Pratt & Whitney, is a preferred provider of high-value propulsion, power, energy and innovative system solutions used in a wide variety of government and commercial applications, including the main engines for the space shuttle, Atlas and Delta launch vehicles, missile defense systems and advanced hypersonic engines.
Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and building industries.
