Ramona Adams
Orbital ATK and NASA have conducted a preliminary design review of a land surface mapping satellite the company is building for the space agency and the U.S. Geological Survey.
The review occurred at Orbital ATK’s Gilbert, Arizona, facility in July and showed that the Landsat 9 satellite meets system and schedule requirements, the company said Tuesday.
NASA awarded Orbital ATK a potential five-year, $129.9 million contract in October 2016 to design and build Landsat 9 as well as integrate two government-furnished instruments, provide launch support and aid early orbit operations.
It is the fourth Orbital ATK-built Landsat satellite and is designed to extend the Landsat program’s duration to 50 years.
USGS will operate Landsat-9 after its planned launch in December 2020.
The land surface mapping satellite will work to gather space-based images and data that can aid research in areas such as agriculture, land use mapping, emergency response and disaster relief.
