BAE SYSTEMS RECEIVES $12.5 MILLION NASA RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CONTRACT

BAE Systems has received a $12.5 million contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for research and development of extreme temperature technology.

BAE Systems' US facility in Manassas, Virginia, will explore techniques to extend the performance range of semiconductor devices that will enable NASA to continue exploring and examining the surfaces of the Moon and Mars.

This technology will allow data gathering in the extreme temperatures of space without providing additional and costly protective systems required to maintain the operating temperature of the semiconductor devices.

BAE Systems has a 20-year history of providing radiation-hardened solutions for U.S. space programs. Its RAD6000 computers were installed on each of the still-operating Mars Rovers - the only control and data computers aboard the two Rovers - to execute flight, landing and exploration operations on Mars.

The RAD750 represents the next-generation of space microprocessors, and was first launched onboard NASA's Deep Impact mission - which is expected to get an up-close view of comet Tempel 1 on the Fourth of July.