Ball Aerospace… Testing Time Over (Satellite Sensor)

[SatNews] Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has completed integration and performance testing of the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) that will fly aboard NASA’s National Preparatory Project (NPP) weather satellite. CrIS, an advanced infrared sensor built by ITT, is part of the five-instrument suite that will allow the NPP satellite to collect and distribute remotely sensed land, ocean, and atmospheric data to the meteorological and global climate change communities.

The advanced sensor suite will provide atmospheric and sea surface temperatures, humidity sounding, land and ocean biological productivity and cloud and aerosol properties. CrIS arrived at Ball Aerospace on June 18 and integration was complete on July 14. The full satellite will now undergo environmental testing at Ball Aerospace prior to its scheduled launch in October 2011.