TRW Wins Contract To Study Spacecraft Designs For NASA’s NPOESS Preparatory Project

TRW Inc.
has been awarded a three-month study contract by NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center (GSFC) for the National Polar-Orbiting Operational
Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP).

Scheduled for launch in 2005, NPP has two primary objectives. NPP
will reduce risk on NPOESS, the nation’s next-generation,
polar-orbiting environmental weather satellite system, by assessing
the operational capability of NPOESS’ ground system elements and three
of its four primary instruments. The other objective is to ensure the
continuity of earth science data between the launch of NASA’s Earth
Observing System (EOS) spacecraft in the next three years and NPOESS
spacecraft toward the end of this decade.

“Our extensive experience as a satellite integrator for earth
observation missions and participation in NPOESS give us an excellent
understanding of the key requirements for NPP,” said Fred Ricker, vice
president and general manager, TRW Space & Laser Programs Division.
TRW is building the spacecraft and integrating the instruments onto
NASA’s EOS Aqua and Aura satellites. TRW is also leading a team
developing an affordable, total system solution for NPOESS under a
27-month program definition and risk reduction contract.

“We look forward to developing a cost-effective and low-risk
solution that will continue our long-standing partnership with NASA on
complex science missions like EOS and the Chandra X-ray Observatory,”
Ricker added.

For the NPP study, TRW will determine how to best accommodate
advanced environmental science instruments on one of TRW’s existing,
qualified spacecraft products in NASA’s Rapid II catalog. NASA’s Rapid
II spacecraft catalog is a procurement approach that offers rapid
development and production of spacecraft using standardized spacecraft
products.

TRW has been developing satellite systems for NASA’s most
challenging scientific, environmental and communications missions
since 1958. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, TRW provides advanced technology
products and services for automotive, space and defense, and
information technology markets worldwide. TRW news releases are
available on the corporate Web site: www.trw.com.