Space Industry and Business News  
Northrop Grumman Tests Multi-Mission Command And Telemetry System For Key Global Space Programs

The joint development team includes Northrop Grumman's JWST and NPOESS teams, program customers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, the NPOESS Integrated Program Office (IPO) and Raytheon Mission Command and Control Systems.
by Staff Writers
Redondo Beach CA (SPX) Oct 10, 2007
Northrop Grumman, in conjunction with ground system teammate Raytheon, recently completed the System Acceptance Test (SAT) of a Common Command and Telemetry System (CCTS) that will potentially reduce costs between two programs, James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS).

"The successful completion of this milestone proves our commitment to providing low-cost, synergistic enterprise solutions to our customers," said Alexis Livanos, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman's Space Technology sector. "It also shows that two customers with two separate programs were willing to trust our collaboration and teamwork to align schedules so that the same system could be used. We've now demonstrated proven efficiencies across different programs that can be utilized to reduce costs and ensure success for future projects."

Raytheon's ECLIPSE is a commercial off-the shelf command and telemetry product that was configured to support both satellite flight operations and integration and test (I and T) on the James Webb Space Telescope and NPOESS. Adding the I and T requirements to a traditional flight operations system is an innovative approach, increasing SAT requirements to accommodate different satellite communication protocols and user needs. Software requirements were verified on spacecraft and ground equipment simulators at Northrop Grumman over a four-week period, concluding in August.

The test milestone represents the culmination of a four-year Raytheon development effort to bring Northrop Grumman its first true multi-mission command and telemetry system and proves the joint team's ability to engineer a system while balancing combined NPOESS and JWST requirements and schedules.

The test verified 1300 requirements through 26 "test-as-you-fly," functional, performance and interface procedures and was the first SAT completed after program-specific requirements were merged into a baseline command and telemetry system. The SAT's objective was to verify command rate and protocol, telemetry decomutation (the ability to transform raw data into engineering values), and to control and monitor the test hardware in an environment unique to Northrop Grumman.

The CCTS ECLIPSE has been delivered to science instrument providers at the Goddard Space Flight Center who will use it to develop, test, and integrate their instruments for the James Webb Space Telescope.

The joint development team includes Northrop Grumman's JWST and NPOESS teams, program customers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, the NPOESS Integrated Program Office (IPO) and Raytheon Mission Command and Control Systems.

The James Webb Space Telescope, designed to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope, will be NASA's premier space observatory following its launch in 2013. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor, leading a team in the telescope's design and development under contract to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

NPOESS is the nation's next-generation low-Earth orbiting remote sensing system and will provide environmental data to military and civilian users. Prime contractor Northrop Grumman leads the overall systems engineering and systems integration effort under contract to the IPO, consisting of the Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Defense and NASA. Raytheon is responsible for the command, control and communications segment; interface data processing segment; and providing systems engineering support.

The first NPOESS satellite is scheduled to launch in 2013.

Related Links
Space Telescope News and Technology at Skynightly.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Herschel's Heart And Brain Mated
Friedrichshafen, Germany (SPX) Sep 20, 2007
Herschel, Europe's infrared space observatory is being presented to the media in a joint press event by ESA and Astrium in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Two of the satellite's most fundamental modules, its 'heart' and 'brain', have now been mated. The far-infrared space observatory is ESA's latest mission that will study the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies. Herschel will carry the largest telescope ever flown in space, giving astronomers their best view yet of the cold and most distant objects in the universe.







  • US cities' Wi-Fi dreams fading fast
  • Digital Dandelions: The Flowering Of Network Research
  • Researchers Aim To Make Internet Bandwidth A Global Currency
  • Controlling Bandwidth In The Clouds

  • Proton Rocket To Launch Three Glonass Satellites Oct 25
  • Boeing Ships Third Thuraya Communications Satellite To Sea Launch Home Port
  • SSTL Satellites Sign-Up For 2008 Launch
  • Ariane 5 rocket puts US, Australian satellites into orbit

  • MEPs seek limits on aircraft emissions by 2010
  • Aircraft And Automobiles Thrive In Hurricane-Force Winds At Lockheed Martin
  • New Delft Material Concept For Aircraft Wings Could Save Billions
  • Cathay Pacific chief hits out at anti-aviation critics

  • Australia To Join With United States In Defence Global Satellite Communications Capability
  • First Class Of Airmen Train For Wideband Global SATCOM
  • Australia To Join With United States In Defence Global Satellite Communications Capability
  • Boeing Supports New USAF GPS Ground Control System

  • Small is beautiful: Incredible shrinking memory drives new IT
  • Northrop Grumman Tests Multi-Mission Command And Telemetry System For Key Global Space Programs
  • New Transparent Plastic Strong As Steel
  • Indonesia studies building record suspension bridge

  • MBDA Director Takes Up Business Management Assignment On The MEADS Program
  • Analysis: Sulick new head spy for CIA
  • Raytheon Names Dr. Thomas Kennedy VP Tactical Airborne Systems
  • Northrop Grumman Appoints James Myers VP And GM Of Navigation Systems Division

  • Successful Image Taking By The High Definition Television
  • Boeing Launches WorldView-1 Earth-Imaging Satellite
  • New Faraway Sensors Warn Of Emerging Hurricane's Strength
  • Key Sensor For Northrop Grumman NPOESS Program Passes Critical Structural Test

  • New York taxi cabs sound the horn for second strike
  • EU deadlocked over funding for Galileo satnav project
  • EU plans for funding Galileo satnav system already hitting snags
  • Galileo GPS Network Hit By More Delays

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement