BAE to Build Ocean-Color Instrument for NOAA’s GeoXO Satellite Program

BAE Systems has secured a $450 million contract from NASA to design and develop an ocean-color instrument for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s next-generation geostationary satellite program.

The company will manufacture two flight instruments to monitor and analyze ocean data for the Geostationary Extended Observations satellite program, NASA said Monday.

The GeoXO Ocean Color instrument will surveil the U.S. exclusive economic zone, coastal waters and the Great Lake, observing daily changes in ocean biology, chemistry and ecology to assess ocean productivity, water quality, seafood safety and hazards.

Under the cost-plus-award-fee contract, BAE will provide support for 10 years of on-orbit operations and five years of on-orbit storage for each OCX instrument.

Work will occur at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and BAE’s headquarters in Boulder, Colorado.

The contract includes options for additional OCX instruments and covers mission operations support services for the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Maryland.

BAE also produces an air quality monitoring instrument for the GeoXO program under a $365 million contract awarded in early May.