SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Aug. 26 (UPI) -- General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies has received an $80 million contract for antennas in support of a government environmental satellite program.
Under the award from Harris Corp., General Dynamics SATCOM will design, manufacture and install six new 16-meter antennas and upgrade four 9-meter satellite communications antennas for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's new GOES-R program.
The antennas will enable critical command, control, telemetry and sensor data communications between satellites and ground stations.
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite system supports weather forecasting, severe storm tracking and meteorology research.
General Dynamics SATCOM said the 16-meter antennas will be installed at the NOAA Wallops Command and Data Acquisition Station in Wallops, Va., with a remote backup site in Fairmont, W.Va. The antennas that will be upgraded as part of this contract are at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Md.
The antenna deliveries will be aligned with the first GOES-R satellite launch, scheduled for 2015, it said.
