AURORA, Colo., Feb. 27, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE:
RTN) has achieved a significant program milestone for the National
Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) by
successfully completing the first phase of a major communications upgrade
for Antarctica.
The upgrade of the off-continent satellite communications link at
McMurdo Station more than triples the bandwidth available for scientific
research, weather prediction, and health and safety of those stationed at
McMurdo. The project is part of the NPOESS command, control, and
communications segment.
"This upgrade paves the way for a second major communications upgrade
planned for 2012 in preparation for the use of McMurdo Station as one of 15
NPOESS ground stations worldwide," said Mike Mader, vice president of
Raytheon's NPOESS program. "NPOESS will be significant to monitoring global
environmental conditions and will collect and disseminate data related to
weather, atmosphere, oceans, land and near-space environment."
The McMurdo project consisted of upgrading one of the two satellite
earth station antennas located at Black Island as well as changing
satellite service and terrestrial network vendors providing the 10 Mbps
(megabit per second) service for McMurdo. The work began in early October
2007 as Raytheon Polar Services Company upgraded the electrical systems at
Black Island. The antenna was fitted with a new Ku-band feed and
electronics by Raytheon Information and Intelligence Systems (IIS) in late
November and the new system was placed into operation on Dec. 23, 2007.
"It has been very exciting to see the collaboration among the National
Science Foundation, the NPOESS prime contractor Northrop Grumman, and the
NPOESS Integrated Program Office come together to provide this higher
bandwidth to the community of McMurdo," said Joe Paciaroni, Raytheon IIS
manager for the McMurdo project. "The efforts of Raytheon Polar Services
Company and Raytheon came together ahead of schedule and demonstrate the
commitment Raytheon gives to our government customers."
Raytheon is part of the Northrop Grumman Corporation-led NPOESS team.
Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor and has overall responsibility for
the NPOESS program development effort.
Based in Garland, Texas, Raytheon IIS is a leading provider of
information and intelligence solutions to the government. Raytheon IIS has
annual revenues of approximately $2.7 billion and employs more than 9,000
engineering and technical professionals worldwide.
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 85
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.
Note to Editors:
Antarctica is the coldest continent with the world's record low
temperature of -128.6 degrees Fahrenheit recorded there. McMurdo Station
was established in 1955 and is on the coast where monthly temperatures
range from -58 degrees Fahrenheit in August to +46 degrees Fahrenheit in
January. During the austral summer, which lasts from October to February,
the station is filled with more than 1,000 scientists and support staff who
are there to study the Antarctic and its interactions with the rest of the
planet.
McMurdo Station is located at ~78 degrees South latitude and was
selected as a ground station site because the NPOESS satellites will pass
over head on every orbit, which contributes significantly to low mission
data latency. Black Island is the primary off-continent telecommunications
facility some 25 miles south of McMurdo across the McMurdo ice shelf and
also serves as a radio lifeline for deep Antarctic field camps.
The National Science Foundation manages and funds the U.S. Antarctic
Program (USAP), which coordinates all U.S. research on the southernmost
continent. McMurdo is one of three year-round stations NSF maintains in
Antarctica; the others are Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, at the
geographic South Pole, and Palmer Station, on the Antarctic Peninsula. The
National Science Foundation and the NPOESS Integrated Program Office are
collaborating on the development of McMurdo as one of the NPOESS weather
downlink stations.
Raytheon Polar Services Company (RPSC) is a part of Raytheon Technical
Services Company under contract to the NSF to provide science, operations,
and maintenance support to sustain year round research programs at three
U.S. locations in Antarctica and two research vessels in the Antarctic
region. RPSC exists specifically to meet the needs of the NSF's Office of
Polar Programs to provide support to the USAP, which is dedicated to
sustaining the Antarctic environment and funding scientists who conduct
research in Antarctica.
Antarctic Program Website: http://www.usap.gov
Contact:
Keith Little
703.849.1675
KDLittle@raytheon.com
SOURCE Raytheon Company
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Related links:
http://www.raytheon.com
CONTACT:
Keith Little of Raytheon Company,
+1-703-849-1675, KDLittle@raytheon.com
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