|
||||||||||||||
|
Rochester, NY, July 23, 2009 — ITT Corporation (NYSE:ITT) is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory launch. The observatory is one of NASA's four great observatories, along with the Hubble Space Telescope, Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope. ITT Space Systems Division was contracted by Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC), NASA's prime contractor for Chandra, to build the x-ray telescope for the satellite that consisted of a High Resolution Mirror Assembly (HRMA) and an Optical Bench Assembly (OBA). The HRMA consisted of four mirror sets that were co-aligned to produce a telescope showing 50 times more detail than any previous X-ray telescope. The OBA, which supports the two-ton HRMA at the fore end, remains the largest composite structure ever flown by NASA. The telescope was specially designed to detect x-ray emission from very hot regions of the universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. "As the Chandra X-Ray Observatory continues to advance the field of X-ray astronomy, ITT has solidified NASA's trust through the long-term reliability of our innovative components," said Rob Mitrevski, vice president and director of Commercial and Space Sciences, ITT Space Systems Division. "While Chandra is still providing scientists with unprecedented information from space, ITT is working to develop future technologies that will serve as a gateway to unimaginable knowledge from this galaxy and beyond." Currently, ITT is working on several projects with NASA including the Terrestrial Planet Finder mission that will seek to find Earth-like planets that may be nearby. ITT is on prime contractor Northrop Grumman's James Webb Space Telescope team. JWST will provide images of the universe's first stars and galaxies. It is expected to launch in 2014. ITT's Space Systems Division, headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., provides innovative remote sensing and navigation solutions to customers in the Department of Defense, intelligence, space science and commercial aerospace to help them visualize and understand critical events happening on Earth, in the air, or in space in time to take effective action. Leveraging comprehensive capabilities, ITT's solutions span from image and data collection through processing and dissemination. Key applications include high-resolution commercial imaging; space science; climate and environmental monitoring; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; GPS navigation; image and data processing and dissemination; and space control and missile defense. ssd.itt.com About ITT Corporation ITT Corporation (www.itt.com) is a high-technology engineering and manufacturing company operating on all seven continents in three vital markets: water and fluids management, global defense and security, and motion and flow control. With a heritage of innovation, ITT partners with its customers to deliver extraordinary solutions that create more livable environments, provide protection and safety and connect our world. Headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., the company generated 2008 sales of $11.7 billion. © ITT, 2009. |
|||||||||||||
 |
|
|