Ball Aerospace to Develop Instrument for NOAA Geostationary Extended Observations Program

Ball Aerospace has secured a potential 15-year, $486.9 million NASA contract to develop the sounder instruments for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geostationary Extended Observations program.

The GeoXO Sounder is a hyperspectral infrared instrument that will provide real-time information about the atmosphere over the western hemisphere. The sounder will be used to improve weather prediction for short-term forecasts and for hurricane track and intensity forecasts.

Under the contract, Ball Aerospace will develop the GeoXO Sounder for NOAA. The company will also provide support launch, supply and maintenance for ancillary ground equipment and operations at the NOAA Satellite Operation Facility in Maryland.

Work will be performed at Ball’s facility in Boulder, Colorado, the Goddard Space Flight Center and the Kennedy Space Center, NASA said.

Ball Aerospace has been working on weather-related hardware for the U.S. government.

On Friday, the company tested the Weather System Follow-on – Microwave satellite, designed to improve the Department of Defense’s space-based environmental monitoring capabilities. Ball, the prime contractor for the WSF-M satellite, said the spacecraft will measure environmental parameters such as oceanic winds, storm intensity and ice thickness.

In July, the company was chosen to design the radio frequency front-end system for the National Center of Atmospheric Research’s Airborne Phased Array Radar program. APAR, envisioned as NCAR’s next-generation weather data-gathering tool, will enhance users’ ability to capture detailed observations of hurricanes and other high-impact weather events.