Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has received confirmation from NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization that a water-detecting sensor system on the Chandrayaan-1 lunar-orbiting spacecraft has been activated and is fully functional.
The assurance extends Raytheon’s perfect 40-year record of start-up success. Data collected during an initial checkout will be used to calibrate the sensor.
Under contract to the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, Raytheon provided the antenna, transmitter, analog receiver and software for the sensor system to Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, which then integrated the sensor system with the spacecraft. The company also supplied system engineering, integration and test support.
The main mission of the system is to detect water at depths up to several meters in the frozen regions of the lunar poles. Operational data retrieval will begin several months after initial calibration to allow other on-board optical payloads to take advantage of favorable solar illumination conditions during the early phase of the program.
“We are proud to be supporting this highly important Indian space mission and of our company’s unblemished record of on-orbit sensor activation,” said Brian Arnold, vice president for the Space Systems group of Raytheon.
Raytheon Company, with 2007 sales of $21.3 billion, is a technology leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 86 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide.
