The instrument, called Hyperion, "sees" the Earth in 220 spectral bands ranging from the visible to shortwave infrared with 30-meter spatial resolution and employs an efficient pushbroom configuration to collect data. Hyperion will provide more data on the Earth's surface properties than is currently available from traditional Landsat imaging missions.

"Hyperion will be the first hyperspectral instrument in space," said Al Frew, vice president and general manager, TRW Space & Technology Division. "The instrument will set the standard for this exciting new technology."

TRW built and tested this instrument in just 12-1/2 months. Hyperion is one of three science-grade instruments that will be integrated into NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) spacecraft, set for launch in December from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

EO-1 is the first satellite in NASA's New Millennium Program Earth Observing series. The New Millennium Program is an initiative to demonstrate advanced technologies and designs that show promise for dramatically reducing the cost and improving the quality of instruments and spacecraft for future space missions.

EO-1's primary focus is on developing and testing instruments that are smaller, less expensive and more capable than existing instruments.

Following launch, the spacecraft will be inserted into an orbit that covers the same ground track as Landsat 7, approximately one minute later. EO-1 will take a series of the same images as Landsat at nearly the same time, providing a means to compare and evaluate EO-1's land imaging instruments. This will help scientists evaluate the utility of hyperspectral imagery for Earth-monitoring applications.

Hyperion is the newest hyperspectral instrument developed by TRW, which has been designing and developing airborne and spaceborne hyperspectral instruments since 1989.

TRW's airborne hyperspectral instruments have completed more than 500 hours of flight over eight years on board helicopters, propeller and jet fixed-wing aircraft, taking images of metropolitan, agricultural and environmentally sensitive areas.

As a leader in hyperspectral technology, TRW provides a full spectrum of services from planning and data acquisition to application analysis. For Hyperion, TRW will be providing data processing and calibration support during the mission.