[Satellite Today 03-11-09] Raytheon, along with Northrop Grumman and the National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Integrated Program Office have deployed and demonstrated the ground segment’s interface data processing segment to the U.S. Air Force Weather Agency, Raytheon announced March 10.
    Using simulated data from the primary NPOESS sensor, data was streamed from Svalbard, Norway, through the NPOESS command, control and communications segment and then processed by the interface data processing segment at the U.S. Air Force Weather Agency.
    “A new height in weather satellite data exploitation was accomplished when the simulated data was successfully processed. The interface data processing segment completes the first operational NPOESS ground system in the U.S. Department of Defense and will be vital to future weather exploitation and military operations," said Col. John Murphy, commander of the U.S. Air Force Weather Agency, in a statement.
    Raytheon is part of prime contractor Northrop Grumman’s NPOESS team.