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Goodrich Short Wave Infrared Cameras On Board Historic LCROSS Lunar Crash Mission

Dépèche transmise le 7 octobre 2009 par Business Wire

Goodrich Short Wave Infrared Cameras On Board Historic LCROSS Lunar Crash Mission

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Goodrich Corporation’s (NYSE: GR) ISR Systems employees in Princeton, N.J. will be eating MoonPies and watching television this Friday morning as they view images resulting from a NASA rocket crashing into the dark side of the moon. The employees design and build the innovative short wave infrared (SWIR) cameras that will image and analyze the cloud of post-crash debris; images could prove the presence of water on the moon, a key to future space exploration and understanding of the solar system.

The lunar crash is part of NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission to search for water on the moon. A ‘shepherding spacecraft’ carrying a cadre of sophisticated instruments, including two Goodrich SWIR cameras, will orbit the moon; at the precise moment, a Centaur rocket will be launched from the spacecraft for an impact at twice the speed of a bullet into a crater near the moon’s south pole. The rocket’s impact will raise a cloud of dust and debris that is expected to contain particles of ice. The SWIR cameras will record images of the debris, which will be transmitted back to Earth in real time for evaluation.

Because the Goodrich SWIR cameras can detect moisture contrast through dust, smoke and fog, they have the unique ability to accurately record the LCROSS crash incident for precise study of the debris cloud. SWIR technology detects reflected light at wavelengths that the human eye cannot see, in wavelength bands between visible and thermal cameras. The extremely small and lightweight size of the Goodrich system makes it ideal for space travel; use of advanced materials and circuitry allow it to run without cooling, unlike other night vision technologies that need cumbersome cooling systems.

“Our 80 employees in Princeton are looking forward to making history with the LCROSS mission,” said Ed Hart, vice president and general manager, Princeton operations, Goodrich ISR Systems. “The SWIR technology provides unmatched capability for numerous applications from fire fighting to homeland security, and we are honored to bring this capability to further mankind’s knowledge of space.”

To download a photo of the Goodrich SWIR cameras as part of the LCROSS payload, click here. To download an image of the LCROSS spacecraft and rocket, click here. And for more information about watching the LCROSS mission on NASA television, click here.

Goodrich Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, is a global supplier of systems and services to aerospace, defense and homeland security markets. With one of the most strategically diversified portfolios of products in the industry, Goodrich serves a global customer base with significant worldwide manufacturing and service facilities. For more information, visit http://www.goodrich.com.

Goodrich Corporation operates through its divisions and as a parent company for its subsidiaries, one or more of which may be referred to as "Goodrich Corporation" in this press release.

GR –Electronic Systems