Maxwell Technologies announced Tuesday that Northrop Grumman Space Technology (NGST) has selected Maxwell's SCS750 single board computer (SBC) for spacecraft control and payload data management for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS).
NPOESS is a $6 billion multi-year program that will replace existing civilian and military weather satellites with a single national system to satisfy both civil and national security requirements for remotely sensed meteorological, oceanographic, climatic and space environmental data.
The first of a planned total of six satellites is scheduled to be launched in 2009.
By winning the SBC supply subcontract, which is valued at up to $14 million over the next seven years if all purchase options are exercised, Maxwell becomes part of the NGST NPOESS team.
NGST leads the team as the prime contractor and has overall responsibility for the program development effort.
Dr. Richard Balanson, Maxwell's president and chief executive officer, said that being selected by NGST for this high-profile national program in direct competition with several other top tier suppliers represents a major credibility milestone for Maxwell's single board computer program.
Larry Longden, Maxwell's director of technology and marketing, said that the SCS750's industry-leading performance will allow NGST to manage all of a satellite's high speed data requirements with a single SBC.
Each satellite will require a total of six SBCs to perform spacecraft control and data management.
Longden noted that Maxwell's proprietary component shielding technology and novel system-level architecture enable the SCS750 to withstand the effects of solar flares and other environmental radiation, ensuring reliable performance in space.
