Kongsberg Spacetec contracted for satellite ground segment equipment

April 4, 2014 By Richard Tomkins  (UPI)

A Norwegian company has been tapped by Raytheon to provide data receiving equipment for a U.S. satellite system.

KONGSBERG, Norway-- Kongsberg Spacetec AS of Norway has been contracted by Raytheon to provide data receiving equipment for the ground segment of a weather satellite program.

The company provided no details as to the monetary value of the award but said the contract for the Joint Polar Satellite System program “has a significant potential” for extensions, maintenance/support work and technical updates.

The satellite program is to provide enhanced weather and climate reporting. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will operate the system.

Raytheon, working under a NASA contract, is the prime contractor for the JPSS ground segment.

Kongsberg Spacetec, or KSPT, said it will deliver standard products for reception of high-speed satellite data, but will also develop new systems for processing, storing and distributing the data.

“This contract, along with the contract awarded to KSPT a couple of years ago for delivery of similar systems to the European Space Agency for receiving data from Sentinel satellites, makes Kongsberg Spacetec a world-leading supplier of this type of equipment.”