Argos tracks with METOC data. Photo: Collecte Localisation Satellite (CLS)

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) was awarded an United States Air Force (USAF) Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) Hosted Payload Solutions (HOPS) satellite delivery order. The award was on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the (HOPS) mission delivery order was for the Argos Advanced Data Collection System (A-DCS).

Under the Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, GA-EMS will launch a 110 kilogram Orbital Test Bed (OTB) satellite and integrate the Argos A-DCS payload, which will be provided by the French Space Agency. The SMC HOPS program is designed to facilitate the placement of government payloads aboard commercial satellites.

The Argos A-DCS mission is supported by the NOAA Cooperative Data and Rescue Services Program.  Argos is an international program that collects data from thousands of sensors and transmitters located around the world. Currently, data is collected and distributed for use in numerous applications, including ocean buoy tracking, wildlife and fishery monitoring, and maritime security, as well as non-environmental uses.