Lockheed Martin Awarded $2.3B NASA Contract to Build NOAA Spacecraft

NASA has awarded Lockheed Martin a $2.27 billion contract to build the spacecraft for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geostationary Extended Observations program.

The cost-plus-award-fee contract entails the development of three spacecraft, with the option for four additional units, and covers 15-year support for the spacecraft’s on-orbit operations and storage, NASA said.

Lockheed Martin will be responsible for the design, fabrication, integration, testing, evaluation and launch of the GeoXO satellites. Other tasks include maintaining ground support equipment and providing engineering units and simulators.

The GeoXO constellation will comprise three operational satellites positioned across the United States and will host instruments for imaging, lightning mapping, ocean color monitoring and atmospheric composition.

NOAA, which funds and manages the GeoXO program, will also work with NASA to oversee the satellites’ development, launch and operations. The program will succeed the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites-R Series by the early 2030s, aiming to provide enhanced Earth observations and critical data for U.S. weather, ocean and climate operations.

Lockheed Martin will execute the work at its facility in Littleton, Colorado, and at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.