Good, Good, Good, Good Vibrations—For NPOESS Team

An advanced atmospheric sounding instrument being built for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) and the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) has successfully completed vibration testing. Northrop Grumman Corporation [NYSE:NOC] is the prime contractor for NPOESS; ITT Corporation [NYSE:ITT] is the subcontractor responsible for building the sensor. The Sensor Level Vibration testing, which simulates the loads the instrument will experience during spacecraft test and launch, was successfully completed for the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) instrument. The CrIS team, including ITT, Northrop Grumman, the NPOESS Integrated Program Office and NASA, spent a year working to ensure that this significant milestone would be met. The CrIS is being prepared for delivery to meet the NPOESS and NPP mission objectives. One more environmental test remains before CrIS’ delivery for integration on the NPP spacecraft. ITT will conduct thermal vacuum testing of the instrument at its facility in Fort Wayne, Ind. CrIS will provide accurate, detailed atmospheric temperature and moisture observations for weather and climate applications. Forecasters use temperature and moisture-sounding data in advanced numerical weather prediction models to improve both global and regional predictions of weather patterns, storm tracks, and precipitation—Redondo Beach, California