Lockheed Receives $297M NASA Contract to Develop NOAA’s Lightning Mapper

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has secured a $297.1 million contract from NASA to oversee the development of a lightning mapping instrument called the GeoXO Lightning Mapper.

NASA said Tuesday the cost-plus-award-fee contract, awarded on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, covers the production of two flight instruments as part of NOAA’s Geostationary Extended Observations satellite program and has options for another two units.

The GeoXO Lightning Mapper will be used to analyze storms and enhance warning times for severe weather events, including possible lightning strikes. Data collected from the instrument will also be used to predict hurricane intensity, detect wildfire, estimate precipitation and reduce aviation hazards.

Under the deal, Lockheed will provide launch support, supply instrument ground support equipment and aid mission operations at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland.

The aeronautics company will also perform 10 years of on-orbit operations support and host five years of on-orbit storage for each flight model.

Work will take place at Lockheed’s facilities in Sunnyvale, California and Littleton, Colorado, as well as NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Lockheed was previously awarded a $2.27 billion contract by NASA to build GeoXO satellites in June.

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