Ball Aerospace Wins Global Precipitation Study Contract

EARTH OBSERVATION

Originally designed to accommodate high-resolution cameras that acquire one-meter class imagery, the Ball Aerospace Commercial Platform (BCP) 2000 can accept any type of Earth-sensing instrumentation requiring precision pointing control and knowledge, yet maintain the flexibility for rapid target selection.

Boulder CO (SPX) Sep 28, 2004
Ball Aerospace & Technologies has been selected by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) for the first phase of a study to develop a satellite bus designed for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. The study will conclude in November, in anticipation of final selection by NASA in January 2005.

The selection will be made through the Goddard Rapid Spacecraft Development Office (RSDO). Ball Aerospace has been selected for three RSDO contracts in recent years, including the spacecraft for the Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT); the Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat); and the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP). The Ball Aerospace Commercial Platform 2000 (BCP 2000) was selected for all three missions.

GPM is a joint mission with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and other international agencies. It is one of the next-generation of systematic measurement missions that will calculate precipitation, a key climate factor, with improved temporal resolution and spatial coverage.

"We have shown that we can accommodate specific program needs within the context of the RSDO offering," said Zubin Emsley, director of commercial program development for Ball Aerospace. "Successful builds on the already launched QuikSCAT and ICESat make this a good fit for us."

Ball Aerospace has been involved in the development of instrumentation for this mission for several years. In 2003, Ball Aerospace was awarded a study contract from Goddard for the Global Precipitation Measurement -- Microwave Imager (GMI), to fly aboard the GPM spacecraft. This instrument will complement the JAXA contributions, making radiometric and radar measurements of clouds and precipitation.

GPM will build upon the success of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) with a goal of improving weather and precipitation forecasts through more accurate measurement of rain rates and latent heating; and to provide more frequent and complete sampling of the Earth's precipitation.

EARTH OBSERVATION

ESA Gives Green Light To Funding For GMES

Paris, France (ESA) Sep 24, 2004
ESA's Earth Observation Programme Board met at the Eden Project in Cornwall on 21 and 22 September. An agreement was reached at this meeting among ESA's Member States to release a total of �80m to fund the next stage of the ESA component of the European GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) initiative.

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