KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., 13 June 2007. Three powerful radars from Northrop Grumman Corp. provided data about debris during this week's liftoff of the Space Shuttle Atlantis mission to deliver truss segment and solar arrays to the International Space Station.
These radars are key components of NASA's overall Debris Radar System -- a tool that helps NASA officials determine if significant debris hits and damages the orbiter during launch.
In addition to the radars, Northrop Grumman engineers provided real-time monitoring and immediate analysis of the radar data, just after launch. This analysis helps NASA assess the damage potential of debris near-misses and reported impacts to the orbiter so that any necessary repairs can be made and the orbiter can safely return home after its mission is complete.
The STS-117 mission marks the fifth time the Debris Radar System has observed a shuttle launch. Northrop Grumman is responsible for integrating the radars and providing engineers to conduct complex data analysis under the U.S. Air Force National Intelligence Center's HAVE GOLD program, a broad task-order contract providing engineering services in support of ballistic missile flight test and data collection analysis.
One of the Debris Radar System elements is a land-based, 50-foot C-band radar, located north of the Kennedy Space Center. It is owned by the U.S. Navy TRIDENT Strategic Systems Program, a key component of the nation's nuclear deterrent effort.
The other two elements are NASA Mobile Debris Monitoring Systems integrated onto two surface ships. These two elements each feature a Weibel Multi-Frequency Tracking Radar 2100/46 X-band Doppler continuous wave radar system. The X-band system is designed for rapid integration onto ship-based mobile platforms.
