DTN News: World’s First Weather Satellite Launched 50 Years Ago Today And Lockheed Martin Has Been Involved From The Very Beginning
Source: DTN News / Lockheed Martin
(NSI News Source Info) SUNNYVALE, Calif., - April 2, 2010: TIROS-1–the first Television and Infrared Observation Satellite–and its successors revolutionized weather
observation and forecasting. Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and its heritage companies built every one of the TIROS series of spacecraft, from TIROS-1– launched on April 1, 1960– through NOAA-N Prime, launched on February 6, 2009.
“We at Lockheed Martin are enormously proud of our long-standing partnership with NASA and NOAA, and congratulate them on this very momentous anniversary,” said Joanne Maguire, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (LMSSC). “Fifty years ago, about the best an ordinary person could do to predict the weather was look out the window and report back. Today, the data accumulated by these satellites over five decades, and the sophisticated weather models they drive, enable reliable forecasts out to seven days. We cannot change the weather, but it is very satisfying to have played–and continue to play–a role in creating the tools that allow us to prepare for it and mitigate its impact on our lives and livelihood.”
The TIROS-1 satellite was built by RCA Astro Electronics in East Windsor, New Jersey. The General Electric Corporation purchased RCA in 1986 and Astro Electronics was renamed GE Astro Space. Martin Marietta acquired it in 1993, and it would become part of Lockheed Martin when that company merged with the Lockheed Corporation in 1995.
TIROS-1 demonstrated the advantage of mapping Earth’s cloud cover from satellite altitudes. The first views revealed clouds banded and clustered in unexpected ways. The mission also succeeded in verifying experimental television techniques designed to develop a worldwide meteorological satellite information system, and testing Sun angle and horizon sensor systems for spacecraft orientation. While the satellite operated for only 78 days, it paved the way for far more robust spacecraft that have made a lasting impact on weather prediction. In all, 44 TIROS satellites were launched between 1960 and 2009. Through five decades of service, they have earned the reputation as the workhorses of the Civil Space Earth-imaging inventory.
The current generation of civilian weather satellites has a direct lineage to TIROS-1. The Advanced TIROS-N satellite series are called Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES). The satellites are acquired and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and once on-orbit operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
A constellation consists of two POES satellites circling the planet in nearly north-south orbits. As the Earth rotates, the entire globe, one swath at a time rolls into view of the satellites’ instruments. The satellites provide measurements of reflected solar and radiated thermal energy from land, sea, clouds, and the atmosphere in the visible and infrared spectrum, atmospheric soundings of temperature and humidity, measurements of global sea surface temperature, aerosol distribution data, ozone concentration data, soil moisture data, and measurements of orbital proton and electron flux.
Together these data comprise irreplaceable inputs to the numerical weather forecast model and are vital to medium and long-range forecasting. Separately or in combination, the data are utilized to produce sea-surface temperature maps, ice condition charts, vegetation maps, and other forecasting and management tools.
Data from these spacecraft also support a broad range of environmental monitoring applications including weather analysis and forecasting, climate research and prediction, ocean dynamics research, volcanic eruption monitoring, and forest fire detection. Additionally, POES satellites – and NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) satellites – carry two search and rescue instruments that are used internationally for locating ships, aircraft, and people in distress. The use of satellites in search and rescue has been instrumental in saving more than 24,500 lives since the inception of the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking (SARSAT) system. POES satellites also collect data from remote platforms and provide direct broadcast of environmental data worldwide.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Md., is responsible for the procurement, development, launch services, and verification of the POES spacecraft, instruments, and unique ground equipment. Following spacecraft launch, Goddard is responsible for satellite health and safety during a comprehensive on-orbit verification period that lasts 45 days. Following satellite checkout, NASA turns operational control over to NOAA, which operates the satellites from its Satellite Operations Control Center along with the nation's other environmental satellites.
NOAA's environmental satellite system is composed of two types of satellites: POES for global, long-term forecasting and environmental monitoring; and GOES for national, regional, short-range warning and “now-casting.” Lockheed Martin and its heritage companies built all of the POES satellites going back to the very first weather satellite launch on April 1, 1960, and is currently developing the next generation GOES-R satellite system, with a first launch set for 2015. Both GOES and POES are necessary for providing a complete global weather monitoring system.
LMSSC is a major operating unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, designs and develops, tests, manufactures and operates a full spectrum of advanced-technology systems for national security and military, civil government and commercial customers. Chief products include human space flight systems; a full range of remote sensing, navigation, meteorological and communications satellites and instruments; space observatories and interplanetary spacecraft; laser radar; ballistic missiles; missile defense systems; and nanotechnology research and development.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2009 sales of $45.2 billion.
Source: DTN News / Int'l Media By: David Donald
(NSI News Source Info) BANGALORE, India - April 2, 2010: HAL on March
29 made the first flight of its light combat helicopter (LCH) prototype, conducting hover tests for around 15 minutes at Bangalore, India. At the controls were group captain Unni Pillai and group captain Hari Nair. Ground runs began in early February.
The LCH, a two-seat attack helicopter based on elements of the HAL Dhruv utility helicopter, is powered by two HAL/Turbomeca Shakti turboshafts, each rated at 1,200 shp. It has a tandem stepped cockpit and crashworthy undercarriage with a stalky tailwheel.
Defense is to be provided by a Saab Avitronics EW suite. In the nose is a sensor turret that is integrated with a helmet-mounted sight system, with a Nexter THL-20 turret mounting a 20-mm M621 cannon. Stub wings provide carriage for weapons, including a range of light bomb and rocket options. The principal weapon, however, will be the Helina helicopter-launched variant of the DRDO’s Nag anti-tank weapon. The helicopter will be able to carry as many as eight of these IIR-guided missiles. MBDA’s air-to-air missile is also slated for LCH. Elements of the LCH’s weapons suite are the same as those of the armed version of the Dhruv, and are already under test on that vehicle.
Development of the LCH began in 2006, and the helicopter was originally due to fly in March 2009, but there have been snags and weight issues. The latter are particularly serious as the LCH is intended to operate with full payload in the Himalayas. HAL has outlined an iterative weight-reduction program over the first three technology demonstration aircraft to bring the LCH down to an acceptable weight level.
HAL hopes to achieve IOC for the type in December 2011, with full induction being achieved in 2012/13. Current plans envision the Indian Air Force receiving 65, and the Indian Army 114.
The Boeing Company today responded with the following statement:
“We are deeply disappointed with EADS-Airbus efforts to further delay this vital warfighting program and tilt the U.S. procurement process in its favor. EADS-Airbus has been fully engaged in the competition for four years and was always expected to provide the vast majority of its team’s work content.
“We welcome the denial of EADS’s repeated requests to alter U.S. warfighting requirements, and we support the Air Force’s stated intent to provide a level playing field for qualified competitors. We do not see a legitimate reason for EADS’s bid deadline extension request, and we believe an extension that favors any individual competitor does not further the goal of ensuring fair competition.
“Boeing remains fully prepared to submit a competitive proposal by the May 10 deadline originally set by the Air Force. However, this latest development, along with the World Trade Organization’s recent final ruling that Airbus has been heavily and illegally subsidized for decades, requires Boeing to review all of our options for going forward while we wait for a final determination on a deadline extension.”
