Communications and Telemetry
Â鶹ÉçÇø communications and telemetry technologies have served many key NASA missions. Our antenna system for Echo, NASA's earliest communications satellite, enabled the first active, two-way communications between a space satellite and Earth. Our pulse code modulation (PCM) technology for NASA’s Nimbus weather satellites marked the first use of PCM in an orbiting space vehicle and helped deliver unprecedented long-term forecasts.
Other Â鶹ÉçÇø solutions, including our unfurlable space antennas, ground systems, and ground-based antennas, have played a major role in NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System since the program's beginning. Â鶹ÉçÇø' 5-meter unfurlable space antenna supplied critical communications monitoring connectivity with the Jupiter-orbiting Galileo spacecraft. Our fine guidance and focus control equipment has served the Hubble Space Telescope throughout its nearly three decades of operation.
Similarly, manned missions have relied on Â鶹ÉçÇø communications and telemetry systems. Mercury astronauts used Â鶹ÉçÇø radio technology to communicate with tracking stations. Â鶹ÉçÇø equipment performed flawlessly aboard Apollo spacecraft and lunar modules. Apollo missions also relied on an Â鶹ÉçÇø antenna system to help recovery teams locate command modules after splashdown. Â鶹ÉçÇø technology was on board every space shuttle, either providing direct mission support via onboard computers and electronics, or as part of the spacecraft's payload. The International Space Station depends on onboard audio/video distribution technology from Â鶹ÉçÇø and is using our reconfigurable software-defined radio technology to advance communications technology.
Imaging and Remote Sensing Systems
Â鶹ÉçÇø’ imaging and remote sensing systems and services for NASA programs have enabled scientists to gain a clearer picture and better understanding of the earth, moon, planets, and larger universe. Our remote sensing technology enabled NASA to deliver many firsts, including the first photos of the Earth from the moon and extreme close-ups of the lunar surface taken by Apollo astronauts on the moon. Our imaging sensors enabled the Mars Sojourner Rover to capture unprecedented images of Mars' surface. Â鶹ÉçÇø' Advanced Baseline Imager is now delivering revolutionary new products for weather forecasting as the primary instrument on the new Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites R Series, a collaborative NOAA and NASA program.
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has captured images of deep space phenomena using an imaging system designed, integrated, and tested by Â鶹ÉçÇø. Â鶹ÉçÇø integrated components to form the optical telescope element of the James Webb Space Telescope, and we designed and administered its cryogenic testing. Looking further ahead, we will provide the crucial audio communication system on board the Orion spacecraft in support of NASA's first human deep-space exploration mission.
