by Garth Meyer
NASA chose Northrop Grumman, Redondo Beach, Jan. 5 for one of seven contracts to advance technology for the “Habitable Worlds Observatory.”
The first of its kind mission to document Earth-like planets will study their atmosphere’s chemical composition, and look for signs of life.
The Observatory will feature a flagship telescope which, aside from its “Habitable Worlds” work, could support future Mars missions.
“This is exactly the kind of bold, forward-leaning science that only NASA can undertake,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement. “Humanity is waiting for the breakthroughs this mission is capable of achieving and the questions it could help us answer about life in the universe. We intend to move with urgency, and expedite timelines to the greatest extent possible to bring these discoveries to the world.”
The mission’s goals call for an optical system so stable it moves only the width of an atom, or less, as it makes its observations.
Also contributing will be an instrument that blocks star light to better see orbiting planets. The “coronagraph” will be more capable than previous versions, by a power of a thousand.
The equipment all adds up to the Habitable Worlds Observatory, which is designed to be serviced in space, extending its lifetime.
NASA chose proposals from seven companies for three-year contracts to make ready these technologies. They are: Northrop Grumman, Redondo Beach; Zecoat Co., Granite City, Illinois; Lockheed Martin Inc., Palo Alto; L3Harris Technologies, Inc., Rochester, New York; Busek Co. Inc., Natick, Mass.; BAE Systems Space and Mission Systems, Inc., Boulder, Colo.; Astroscale U.S. Inc., Denver, Colo.
The new contracts build on lessons from the James Webb Space Telescope – built by Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach – the previous Hubble Space Telescope, and the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
“Awards like these are a critical component of our incubator program for future missions, which combines government leadership with commercial innovation, to make what is impossible today implementable in the future,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Space Park to build satellites for missile defense
The federal government’s Space Development Agency awarded Northrop Grumman Dec. 19 with a contract to build 18 satellites in Redondo Beach for its missile defense initiative.
The program aims to defend the country with rapid missile warning and tracking. Northrop Grumman’s work will allow the U.S. to detect, warn of, and track hypersonic weapons and missiles from the instant they launch.
The contract is one of four on the project, totaling $3.5 billion for 72 satellites.
“Our contributions to both high and low altitude layers of our nation’s missile warning and tracking architecture help protect our nation from a wide range of threats,” said Brandon White, Northrop Grumman vice president and general manager of space-enabled multi-domain operations division at Space Park, Redondo Beach. “With our extensive history of fielding operational Overhead Persistent Infrared satellites, we are poised to rapidly deliver the TRKT3 satellites.”
TRKT3 refers to the third installment of a tracking layer to respond to the advent of hypersonic missiles, which maneuver in flight, requiring infrared tracking and timely data (from satellites) in order to counter.
The satellites are part of the U.S. Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture mission.
Northrop Grumman will also build ground systems for the program, for both tracking and transport.
The first transport layer is scheduled for launch early this year. ER
