NASA Awards Contracts for NOAA Lightning Mapper Phase A Study

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Apr 20, 2022, 16:45 ET

GREENBELT, Md., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA has selected two firms for the Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) Lightning Mapper (LMX) Phase A Study. These contracted firms will provide services to help meet the objectives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) GeoXO program.

The firms selected are Northrop Grumman Corporation System Sector of Azusa, California, and Lockheed Martin Corporation of Littleton, Colorado. The total value of each of these twenty-month firm-fixed-price contracts is approximately $5 million. The work will be performed at the contractors' facilities.

The principal purpose of these contracts is to provide a definition-phase study of a GeoXO LMX instrument. The LMX instrument will be a single-channel, near-infrared optical detector used to detect, locate, and measure the optical pulses associated with lightning. It is planned to fly on the NOAA GeoXO Program series of geostationary satellites.

NOAA's GeoXO satellite system is the groundbreaking mission that will advance Earth observations from geostationary orbit. The mission will supply vital information to address major environmental challenges of the future in support of weather, ocean, and climate operations in the United States. The GeoXO mission will continue and expand observations provided by the GOES-R series of satellites. GeoXO will bring new capabilities to address emerging environmental issues and challenges that threaten the security and well-being of every American. NOAA is working to ensure these critical observations are in place by the early 2030s, as the GOES-R Series nears the end of its operational lifetime.

The GeoXO mission is a collaborative partnership between NOAA and NASA. NOAA funds, operates, and manages the mission and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the acquisition of the Phase A Formulation contracts.

For more information about the GeoXO mission, visit:

https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/next-generation-satellites/geostationary-extended-observations-geoxo

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

SOURCE NASA