Archivo de la etiqueta: Astronomy

NASA Awards Logistic Services, Management Contract

NASA has awarded the Goddard Logistics Services Contract to TRAX International Corporation of Las Vegas to provide logistics services and management for NASA missions.

The cost-plus-fixed-fee contract includes a base period and up to five options with a potential contract value of approximately $265 million if all options are exercised. The basic period of performance is from Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, to July 21, 2025. The five option periods, if exercised, would extend the contract through Jan. 31, 2030.

Under this contract, TRAX will provide disposal operations, export control, equipment management, mail, supply, materials, and transportation for NASA. The work will be performed at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, and NASA Headquarters in Washington.

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

-end-

Abbey Donaldson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
Abbey.a.donaldson@nasa.gov

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Tiernan P. Doyle

NASA Selects Lockheed Martin to Build Next-Gen Spacecraft for NOAA

NASA, on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has selected Lockheed Martin Corp. of Littleton, Colorado, to build the spacecraft for NOAA’s Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) satellite program.

This cost-plus-award-fee contract is valued at approximately $2.27 billion. It includes the development of three spacecraft as well as four options for additional spacecraft. The anticipated period of performance for this contract includes support for 10 years of on-orbit operations and five years of on-orbit storage, for a total of 15 years for each spacecraft. The work will take place at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Littleton and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The GeoXO constellation will include three operational satellites — east, west and central. Each geostationary, three-axis stabilized spacecraft is designed to host three instruments. The centrally-located spacecraft will carry an infrared sounder and atmospheric composition instrument and can also accommodate a partner payload. Spacecraft in the east and west positions will carry an imager, lightning mapper, and ocean color instrument. They will also support an auxiliary communication payload for the NOAA Data Collection System relay, dissemination, and commanding.

The contract scope includes the tasks necessary to design, analyze, develop, fabricate, integrate, test, evaluate, and support launch of the GeoXO satellites; provide engineering development units; supply and maintain the ground support equipment and simulators; and support mission operations at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland.

NASA and NOAA oversee the development, launch, testing, and operation of all the satellites in the GeoXO program. NOAA funds and manages the program, operations, and data products. On behalf of NOAA, NASA and commercial partners develop and build the instruments and spacecraft and launch the satellites.

As part of NOAA’s constellation of geostationary environmental satellites to protect life and property across the Western Hemisphere, the GeoXO program is the follow-on to the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites – R (GOES-R) Series Program.

The GeoXO satellite system 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 advanced capabilities from GeoXO will help assess our changing planet and the evolving needs of the nation’s data users. Together, NASA and NOAA are working to ensure GeoXO’s critical observations are in place by the early 2030s when the GOES-R Series nears the end of its operational lifetime.

For more information on the GeoXO program, visit:

https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/geoxo

-end-

Liz Vlock
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov

Jeremy Eggers
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
757-824-2958
jeremy.l.eggers@nasa.gov

John Leslie
NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
202-527-3504
nesdis.pa@noaa.gov

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Tiernan P. Doyle

NASA Selects Lockheed Martin to Build Next-Gen Spacecraft for NOAA

NASA, on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has selected Lockheed Martin Corp. of Littleton, Colorado, to build the spacecraft for NOAA’s Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) satellite program.

This cost-plus-award-fee contract is valued at approximately $2.27 billion. It includes the development of three spacecraft as well as four options for additional spacecraft. The anticipated period of performance for this contract includes support for 10 years of on-orbit operations and five years of on-orbit storage, for a total of 15 years for each spacecraft. The work will take place at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Littleton and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The GeoXO constellation will include three operational satellites — east, west and central. Each geostationary, three-axis stabilized spacecraft is designed to host three instruments. The centrally-located spacecraft will carry an infrared sounder and atmospheric composition instrument and can also accommodate a partner payload. Spacecraft in the east and west positions will carry an imager, lightning mapper, and ocean color instrument. They will also support an auxiliary communication payload for the NOAA Data Collection System relay, dissemination, and commanding.

The contract scope includes the tasks necessary to design, analyze, develop, fabricate, integrate, test, evaluate, and support launch of the GeoXO satellites; provide engineering development units; supply and maintain the ground support equipment and simulators; and support mission operations at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland.

NASA and NOAA oversee the development, launch, testing, and operation of all the satellites in the GeoXO program. NOAA funds and manages the program, operations, and data products. On behalf of NOAA, NASA and commercial partners develop and build the instruments and spacecraft and launch the satellites.

As part of NOAA’s constellation of geostationary environmental satellites to protect life and property across the Western Hemisphere, the GeoXO program is the follow-on to the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites – R (GOES-R) Series Program.

The GeoXO satellite system 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 advanced capabilities from GeoXO will help assess our changing planet and the evolving needs of the nation’s data users. Together, NASA and NOAA are working to ensure GeoXO’s critical observations are in place by the early 2030s when the GOES-R Series nears the end of its operational lifetime.

For more information on the GeoXO program, visit:

https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/geoxo

-end-

Liz Vlock
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov

Jeremy Eggers
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
757-824-2958
jeremy.l.eggers@nasa.gov

John Leslie
NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
202-527-3504
nesdis.pa@noaa.gov

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Tiernan P. Doyle

NASA Sets Launch Coverage for NOAA Weather Satellite

NASA will provide live coverage of prelaunch and launch activities for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) GOES-U (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite U) mission. The two-hour launch window opens at 5:16 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June 25, for the satellite’s launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

The GOES-U satellite, the final addition to GOES-R series, will help to prepare for two kinds of weather — Earth and space weather. The GOES satellites serve a critical role in providing continuous coverage of the Western Hemisphere, including monitoring tropical systems in the eastern Pacific and Atlantic oceans. This continuous monitoring aids scientists and forecasters in issuing timely warnings and forecasts to help protect the one billion people who live and work in the Americas. Additionally, GOES-U carries a new compact coronagraph that will image the outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere to detect and characterize coronal mass ejections. 

The deadline for media accreditation for in-person coverage of this launch has passed. NASA’s media credentialing policy is available online. For questions about media accreditation, please email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. 

NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations): 

Monday, June 24 

9:30 a.m. – NASA EDGE GOES-U prelaunch show on NASA+, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. 

11 a.m. – GOES-U science briefing with the following participants: 

• Charles Webb, deputy director, Joint Agency Satellite Division, NASA 

• Ken Graham, director, NOAA’s National Weather Service 
• Dan Lindsey, chief scientist, GOES-R Program, NOAA 
• Elsayed Talaat, director, NOAA’s Office of Space Weather Observations 
• Chris Wood, NOAA Hurricane Hunter pilot 

Coverage of the science news conference will stream live on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. 

Media may ask questions in person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov. 

3:15 p.m. – NASA Social panel at Kennedy with the following participants: 

• Jade Zsiros, telemetry engineer, NASA’s Launch Services Program 
• Ellen Ramirez, deputy division chief, Mission Operations Division, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service Office of Satellite and Product Operations, NOAA 
• Dakota Smith, satellite analyst and communicator, NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere 
• Allana Nepomuceno, senior manager, GOES-U Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations, Lockheed Martin 
• Chris Reith, program manager, Advanced Baseline Imager, L3Harris Technologies 

The panel will stream live on NASA Kennedy’s YouTube, X and Facebook accounts. Members of the public may ask questions online by posting to the YouTube, X, and Facebook live streams or using #AskNASA. 

5 p.m. – Prelaunch news conference at Kennedy (following completion of the Launch Readiness Review), with the following participants: 

• Denton Gibson, launch director, Launch Services Program, NASA 
• Steve Volz, assistant administrator, NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service 
• Pam Sullivan, director, GOES-R Program, NOAA 
• John Gagosian, director, Joint Agency Satellite Division 
• Julianna Scheiman, director, NASA Science Missions, SpaceX 
• Brian Cizek, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, U.S. Space Force 

Coverage of the prelaunch news conference will stream live on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. 

Media may ask questions in person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov. 

Tuesday, June 25 

1 p.m. – Media one-on-one interviews with the following: 

• Michael Morgan, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction, NOAA 
• Michael Brennan, director, NOAA’s National Hurricane Center 
• James Spann, senior scientist, Office of Space Weather Observations, NOAA 
• John Gagosian, director, Joint Agency Satellite Division 
• Krizia Negron, language program lead, National Weather Service Office of Science and Technology Integration, NOAA (bilingual, available for Spanish interviews) 

• Dan Lindsey, chief scientist, GOES-R Program, NOAA 
• Jagdeep Shergill, program director, GEO Weather, Lockheed Martin 
• Chris Reith, program manager, Advanced Baseline Imager, L3Harris Technologies 

4:15 p.m. – NASA launch coverage begins on NASA+, the agency’s website, and other digital channels.  

5:16 p.m. – Two-hour launch window opens 

Audio Only Coverage 

Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240 or -7135. On launch day, “mission audio,” countdown activities without NASA Television media launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135. 

Live Video Coverage Prior to Launch 

NASA will provide a live video feed of Launch Complex 39A approximately 24 hours prior to the planned liftoff of the mission on NASA Kennedy’s YouTube: https://youtube.com/kscnewsroom. The feed will be uninterrupted until the prelaunch broadcast begins on NASA Television media channel. 

NASA Website Launch Coverage 

Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the agency’s website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 3 p.m., June 25, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. 

For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468. Follow countdown coverage on the GOES blog. 

Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo: antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov o Messod Bendayan: messod.c.bendayan@nasa.gov 

Attend the Launch Virtually 

Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following launch. 

Watch, Engage on Social Media 

Let people know you’re following the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by using the hashtags #ReadyToGOES and #NASASocial. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts: 

X: @NASA, @NASA_LSP, @NASAKennedy, @NOAASatellites, @NASAGoddard 

Facebook: NASA, NASA LSP, NASA Kennedy, NOAA Satellites, NASA Goddard 

Instagram: NASA, NASA Kennedy, NOAA Satellites 

For more information about the mission, visit: 

https://www.nasa.gov/goes-u

-end- 

Liz Vlock 
Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-1600 
elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov 

Peter Jacobs 
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 
301-286-0535 
peter.jacobs@nasa.gov 

Leejay Lockhart 
Kennedy Space Center, Florida 
321-747-8310 
leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov 

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Abbey A. Donaldson

NASA Sets Launch Coverage for NOAA Weather Satellite

NASA will provide live coverage of prelaunch and launch activities for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) GOES-U (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite U) mission. The two-hour launch window opens at 5:16 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June 25, for the satellite’s launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

The GOES-U satellite, the final addition to GOES-R series, will help to prepare for two kinds of weather — Earth and space weather. The GOES satellites serve a critical role in providing continuous coverage of the Western Hemisphere, including monitoring tropical systems in the eastern Pacific and Atlantic oceans. This continuous monitoring aids scientists and forecasters in issuing timely warnings and forecasts to help protect the one billion people who live and work in the Americas. Additionally, GOES-U carries a new compact coronagraph that will image the outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere to detect and characterize coronal mass ejections. 

The deadline for media accreditation for in-person coverage of this launch has passed. NASA’s media credentialing policy is available online. For questions about media accreditation, please email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. 

NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations): 

Monday, June 24 

9:30 a.m. – NASA EDGE GOES-U prelaunch show on NASA+, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. 

11 a.m. – GOES-U science briefing with the following participants: 

• Charles Webb, deputy director, Joint Agency Satellite Division, NASA 

• Ken Graham, director, NOAA’s National Weather Service 
• Dan Lindsey, chief scientist, GOES-R Program, NOAA 
• Elsayed Talaat, director, NOAA’s Office of Space Weather Observations 
• Chris Wood, NOAA Hurricane Hunter pilot 

Coverage of the science news conference will stream live on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. 

Media may ask questions in person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov. 

3:15 p.m. – NASA Social panel at Kennedy with the following participants: 

• Jade Zsiros, telemetry engineer, NASA’s Launch Services Program 
• Ellen Ramirez, deputy division chief, Mission Operations Division, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service Office of Satellite and Product Operations, NOAA 
• Dakota Smith, satellite analyst and communicator, NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere 
• Allana Nepomuceno, senior manager, GOES-U Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations, Lockheed Martin 
• Chris Reith, program manager, Advanced Baseline Imager, L3Harris Technologies 

The panel will stream live on NASA Kennedy’s YouTube, X and Facebook accounts. Members of the public may ask questions online by posting to the YouTube, X, and Facebook live streams or using #AskNASA. 

5 p.m. – Prelaunch news conference at Kennedy (following completion of the Launch Readiness Review), with the following participants: 

• Denton Gibson, launch director, Launch Services Program, NASA 
• Steve Volz, assistant administrator, NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service 
• Pam Sullivan, director, GOES-R Program, NOAA 
• John Gagosian, director, Joint Agency Satellite Division 
• Julianna Scheiman, director, NASA Science Missions, SpaceX 
• Brian Cizek, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, U.S. Space Force 

Coverage of the prelaunch news conference will stream live on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. 

Media may ask questions in person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov. 

Tuesday, June 25 

1 p.m. – Media one-on-one interviews with the following: 

• Michael Morgan, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction, NOAA 
• Michael Brennan, director, NOAA’s National Hurricane Center 
• James Spann, senior scientist, Office of Space Weather Observations, NOAA 
• John Gagosian, director, Joint Agency Satellite Division 
• Krizia Negron, language program lead, National Weather Service Office of Science and Technology Integration, NOAA (bilingual, available for Spanish interviews) 

• Dan Lindsey, chief scientist, GOES-R Program, NOAA 
• Jagdeep Shergill, program director, GEO Weather, Lockheed Martin 
• Chris Reith, program manager, Advanced Baseline Imager, L3Harris Technologies 

4:15 p.m. – NASA launch coverage begins on NASA+, the agency’s website, and other digital channels.  

5:16 p.m. – Two-hour launch window opens 

Audio Only Coverage 

Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240 or -7135. On launch day, “mission audio,” countdown activities without NASA Television media launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135. 

Live Video Coverage Prior to Launch 

NASA will provide a live video feed of Launch Complex 39A approximately 24 hours prior to the planned liftoff of the mission on NASA Kennedy’s YouTube: https://youtube.com/kscnewsroom. The feed will be uninterrupted until the prelaunch broadcast begins on NASA Television media channel. 

NASA Website Launch Coverage 

Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the agency’s website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 3 p.m., June 25, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. 

For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468. Follow countdown coverage on the GOES blog. 

Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo: antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov o Messod Bendayan: messod.c.bendayan@nasa.gov 

Attend the Launch Virtually 

Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following launch. 

Watch, Engage on Social Media 

Let people know you’re following the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by using the hashtags #ReadyToGOES and #NASASocial. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts: 

X: @NASA, @NASA_LSP, @NASAKennedy, @NOAASatellites, @NASAGoddard 

Facebook: NASA, NASA LSP, NASA Kennedy, NOAA Satellites, NASA Goddard 

Instagram: NASA, NASA Kennedy, NOAA Satellites 

For more information about the mission, visit: 

https://www.nasa.gov/goes-u

-end- 

Liz Vlock 
Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-1600 
elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov 

Peter Jacobs 
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 
301-286-0535 
peter.jacobs@nasa.gov 

Leejay Lockhart 
Kennedy Space Center, Florida 
321-747-8310 
leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov 

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Get The Details…
Abbey A. Donaldson