Lockheed Martin, based in Littleton, Colorado, will be responsible for the development and construction of the GeoXO satellites. The contract is a cost-plus-award-fee agreement, indicating that Lockheed Martin will be rewarded based on performance and cost control. The project includes support for 10 years of on-orbit operations and five years of on-orbit storage, ensuring a total operational lifespan of 15 years for each spacecraft. The primary work locations will be Lockheed Martin’s facility in Littleton and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The GeoXO constellation will consist of three operational satellites positioned in geostationary orbit over the east, west, and central regions. Each satellite will be equipped with three instruments designed to enhance Earth observation capabilities. The central satellite will carry an infrared sounder, an atmospheric composition instrument, and potentially a partner payload. Satellites in the east and west positions will host an imager, a lightning mapper, and an ocean color instrument. Additionally, they will support an auxiliary communication payload for NOAA’s Data Collection System relay, dissemination, and commanding.

The scope of the contract includes the tasks required to design, analyze, develop, fabricate, integrate, test, evaluate, and launch the GeoXO satellites. Lockheed Martin will also provide engineering development units, ground support equipment, simulators, and mission operations support at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland.

“NASA and NOAA oversee the development, launch, testing, and operation of all the satellites in the GeoXO program,” the press release states.

While NOAA funds and manages the program, operations, and data products, NASA and its commercial partners are tasked with the development and construction of the instruments and spacecraft, as well as the launch operations.

The GeoXO program is designed to build upon and succeed the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites – R (GOES-R) Series Program, continuing NOAA’s mission to protect life and property across the Western Hemisphere. The advanced capabilities of the GeoXO satellite system will significantly enhance Earth observations from geostationary orbit. These observations will provide critical information to address environmental challenges related to weather, ocean, and climate operations in the United States.

“The mission will supply vital information to address major environmental challenges of the future in support of weather, ocean, and climate operations in the United States,” the release continues. By the early 2030s, when the GOES-R Series nears the end of its operational life, GeoXO’s advanced capabilities will be essential for ongoing environmental monitoring and data collection.

For more information on the GeoXO program, visit NOAA’s GeoXO program page.

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The post Lockheed Martin to Build Advanced GeoXO Satellites for NOAA Under NASA Contract first appeared on The Black Vault.

According to the agreement, these are the objectives:

PARTNER [Lockheed Martin] Benefit: The potential benefit to PARTNER includes the knowledge, insight and recommendations gained from the sharing of data, information and experiences with NSRDEC under this JWS. 

NSRDEC Benefit: The potential benefit to NSRDEC includes the knowledge, experience and data gathered during PARTNER internal and third-party evaluation and analysis of its HULC and FORTIS systems (including without limitation its FORTIS-KSRD system) and subsystems and related products designed to improve Soldiers’ load carriage abilities and/or reduce muscular and/or skeleton fatigue. Execution of this JWS will provide NSRDEC with continued exposure and knowledge of system and subsystems pertaining to advanced exoskeleton technology, which may have a benefit to the warfighter.

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CRADA for Domestic Technology Transfer Between U.S. Army RDECOM and Lockheed Martin, 2018 [38 Pages, 18.2MB]

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The post CRADA for Domestic Technology Transfer Between U.S. Army RDECOM and Lockheed Martin, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault.

The management review, known as Key Decision Point-D (KDP-D), was the last programmatic hurdle for the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft to clear before officials meet again in late 2020 to approve the airplane’s first flight in 2021.

“With the completion of KDP-D we’ve shown the project is on schedule, it’s well planned and on track. We have everything in place to continue this historic research mission for the nation’s air-traveling public,” said Bob Pearce, NASA’s associate administrator for Aeronautics.

The X-59 is shaped to reduce the loudness of a sonic boom reaching the ground to that of a gentle thump, if it is heard at all. It will be flown above select U.S. communities to generate data from sensors and people on the ground in order to gauge public perception. That data will help regulators establish new rules to enable commercial supersonic air travel over land.

Construction of the X-59, under a $247.5 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract, is continuing at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company’s Skunk Works factory in Palmdale, California.

Three major work areas are actively set up for building the airplane’s main fuselage, wing and empennage. Final assembly and integration of the airplane’s systems – including an innovative cockpit eXternal Visibility System – is targeted for late 2020.

Management of the X-59 QueSST development and construction falls under the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator project, which is part of NASA’s Integrated Aviation Systems Program.

For more information about NASA’s aeronautics research, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/aeronautics

The post NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Research Aircraft Cleared for Final Assembly first appeared on The Black Vault.