Technical Services - Summer 2008 - (Page 19)

SS GEODSS Program Celebrates 30 Years of Deep Space Surveillance nowing the locations of the thousands of objects orbiting our planet is essential to avoiding collisions in space. Thirty years ago, the U.S. Air Force’s GroundBased Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) program was initiated to help track space objects and, in doing so, protect human life and expensive space-based equipment. Originally awarded to Northrop Grumman legacy corporation TRW in May 1978, the GEODSS program successfully built a system that uses telescopes to gather data on orbiting objects. Today, Technical Services provides operations, maintenance and services support to the program, with the Mission Systems sector providing sustainment engineering and modernization support. “We’ve enjoyed a tremendous record of success,” said Tom Swaim, TS program manager. “Our effort contributes substantially to the mission of tracking the more than 10,000 known objects in orbit around the Earth. Space situational awareness—knowing the location of these objects to avoid collisions in space—is essential to protecting human spaceflight and our national assets.” Swaim said the mission is critical for our nation. “We’ve kept these amazing telescopes performing beyond operational standards, and continuously improved them to collect more accurate data and acquire smaller objects while increasing the number of observations. I’m proud to say we’ve provided our Air Force customer with superior levels of service over the course of this historic program.” TS K 1 2 3 TS’ Wallops Island Team Conducts Successful Missile Launches, Partners with Local Youth 4 1 I n June, Technical Services’ NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract (NSROC) team, based in Wallops Island, Va., again supported a joint Missile Defense Agency–U.S. Navy tracking event off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii. Two NSROC Terrier Oriole rockets were launched almost simultaneously for the event. The crew of the USS Lake Erie used the Aegis BMD (Ballistic Missile Defense) weapons system and onboard AN-SPY-1 radar to successfully acquire and track the targets, develop fire-control solutions and simulate the launch of two Standard Missile interceptors. TS Northrop Grumman Technical Services GEODSS Site 2 is in Diego Garcia. This aerial view shows the site with the Indian Ocean in the background. Technical Services’ other two GEODSSmanaged sites are similarly situated in remote areas, with one located at White Sands Missile Range, near Socorro, N.M., and the other at the 10,000-foot summit of Mt. Haleakala on Maui, Hawaii. At the start of the GEODSS program, a fourth site, closed in 1993, operated near Taegu, Korea. GEODSS team members: front row (l-r): Tom Swaim, program manager; Amy Porter of Business Management; Robin Vereen of Human Resources; and Bruce Bookout, former Diego Garcia site manager; back row (l-r): Bob Klea, program control analyst; Dave Maher, quality manager; Jeff DeMaris, mission support engineer; and Larry Bokn, mission performance engineer. Rockets fired for Missile Defense Agency ascend into the skies near Hawaii. As part of the NASA NSROC Student-to-Student Outreach Program, Virginia Tech co-op student Alex Malone explained sounding rockets to a group of advanced fifth graders at the Arlington Traditional School in Arlington, Va. Shown with a rocket are (l-r) Natascha Elbech, Dennis Kang, Prisila Otazo, Anneliese Leach, Lydia Cawley, Mira Soni, Audrey Bartz, Emily Flynn and Evan Cater. 2 3 4 19

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technical Services - Summer 2008

Technical Services - Summer 2008 Contents President’s Column Second Quarter Results TS Wins Key ID/IQ Contracts Seamless Partnering and Exceptional Performance: Two Defining Traits of the U.K. AWACS Program TS Engineers Investigate B-2 Crash Missile Logistics Support Operation Up and Running Lake Charles Expands Product Support Global Hawk Assists Firefighting Efforts TS Delivers Technology for Moon Mission Joint Venture Teammates Recognized for Service Milestones TS Trains Peacekeepers in Seven African Nations TS Trainers Provide Mission Support; TS Awarded Digital Leader Contract TS Offers Valuable Training Services to Soldiers Live-Fire Training at Fort Hood Naval and Marine Aviators Hone Their Skills GEODSS Celebrates 30 Years; Wallops Island Shoulder to Shoulder – Wounded Warriors I’m In! TS Transitions to One Source; Scholarship Winners Announced TS in Colorado Springs; Ethics Awareness Week

Technical Services - Summer 2008

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