REDONDO BEACH, Calif.,
Aug. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A
cool thing about space: cryogenic refrigerators from Northrop
Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) that chill satellite sensors to
hundreds of degrees below zero Fahrenheit (degrees F) for maximum
sensitivity.
A photo accompanying this release is available at
http://media.globenewswire.com/noc/mediagallery.html?pkgid=27220.
A new NASA satellite with infrared sensors provides the most
recent example. The space agency launched Orbiting Carbon
Observatory-2 into space on July 2.
Its mission is to make the clearest and most complete measurements
ever of atmospheric carbon dioxide near the Earth's surface.
That meant chilling OCO-2's light detectors to minus 244 degrees
F. NASA contracted with Northrop Grumman to supply a cryocooler for
the job. The system started up as expected during check out tests
on Aug. 6 and cooled sensors to
required cryogenic temperatures, said NASA.
"The successful activation of the OCO-2 cryocooler means that it
is the 17th to operate in space without a failure. With
17 of these units on orbit, Northrop Grumman has more than all
other U.S. manufacturers combined," said Chris Yamada, vice president, aerospace
products, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. "Our high efficiency
cryocooler [HEC] unit has a solid space flight heritage and
flawless record for reliability."
OCO-2 is NASA's first dedicated Earth remote sensing satellite
for studying atmospheric carbon dioxide. This newest member of the
international Afternoon (or "A Train") Constellation of
Earth-observing satellites will give a bigger, clearer and more
complete global picture of this greenhouse gas.
Other NASA climate monitoring missions that use the company's
pulse tube cryocoolers include the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder on
Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua and the Tropospheric Emission
Spectrometer on EOS Aura. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor
for Aqua and Aura, launched in 2002 and 2004.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, which manages the mission for NASA,
integrated OCO-2's sensor instrument and conducted cryocooler
characterization tests.
The cryocooler is the fourth in Northrop Grumman's current
generation of HEC designs. OCO-2 represents the first space
operation for the latest generation of cryocooler electronics,
called Advanced Cryocooler Electronics.
Twenty other HEC units from Northrop Grumman are being
integrated or tested on instruments and spacecraft for near-term
missions.
Along with cryocoolers, the company's aerospace products group
offers a spacecraft bus family; sensors such as hyperspectral
imagers and passive millimeter wave cameras; and wideband
communication links.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing
innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems,
cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and
commercial customers worldwide. Please visit
www.northropgrumman.com for more information.
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SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation