News

Northrop Grumman has been awarded a .3 million contract to refurbish the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder engineering development unit for the QuickSounder program, led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The purpose of the contract is to update NOAA’s weather satellite constellation.

Additionally, the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has secured a million contract to supply the QuickSounder spacecraft. SwRI, based in San Antonio, will be responsible for developing the QuickSounder spacecraft, integrating it with NOAA’s Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder engineering development unit, and managing transportation, launch, three years of operations, and satellite decommissioning. The contract is a firm-fixed-price agreement that will extend until May 2029.

QuickSounder is the initial component of NOAA’s Near Earth Orbit Network (NEON), a new generation of polar-orbiting weather satellites. The mission of QuickSounder is to support NOAA’s future low Earth orbit program, which will provide important data for NOAA’s National Weather Service and the nation’s weather industry.

NOAA plans to send the refurbished Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder engineering development unit, created by Northrop Grumman, aboard a commercial satellite bus for the QuickSounder program. This initiative aims to demonstrate a faster way to update NOAA’s weather satellite constellation.

This contract award demonstrates the commitment of Northrop Grumman and SwRI to NOAA’s satellite programs and the importance of advancing technology in weather monitoring. With the integration of new spacecraft and the refurbishment of existing units, NOAA will be better equipped to gather critical data for the National Weather Service and the wider weather industry.

The post Northrop Grumman and Southwest Research Institute Secure Contracts for NOAA’s QuickSounder Program appeared first on satProviders.