MCKINNEY, Texas, March 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company
(NYSE: RTN), the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and the Green
Bank Observatory entered a cooperative research and development
agreement to detect and characterize near-earth asteroids large
enough to cause significant damage.
The Raytheon-NRAO/GBO collaboration will integrate a radar
transmitter into the Green Bank Telescope and use the National
Science Foundation's Very Long Baseline Array as a receiver to
provide a very detailed radar image. The GBT and the VLBA will each
point at the same celestial body, such as the moon, to conduct
radar experiments. This approach increases the probability of
detection and characterization of objects out to the orbit of
Jupiter and possibly farther. To put this in perspective, objects
around Mars are hard to detect, and Jupiter is hundreds of millions
of miles farther than that.
"Very energetic dusty asteroids
– we're talking from several hundred feet to miles in size – don't
reflect sunlight very well, and that makes them incredibly
difficult, if not impossible to detect in our solar system," said
Art Morrish, vice president,
Raytheon Advanced Concepts & Technologies. "We're collaborating
with the NRAO to combine radio astronomy and radar techniques to
bring new capabilities to the astronomical community to solve
problems like this."
"Using the radio astronomy facilities of the National Science
Foundation in these new research areas is incredibly exciting,"
said Tony Beasley, director of the
National Radio Astronomy Observatory and Associated Universities
Inc. vice president for Radio Astronomy Operations. "This
partnership between Raytheon and NRAO/GBO is one of several
promising research and technology collaborations we're exploring
that may greatly benefit our next-generation Very Large Array
project."
The NRAO and the GBO are facilities of the National Science
Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated
Universities, Inc.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company (NYSE:RTN), with 2019 sales of $29
billion and 70,000 employees, is a technology and innovation
leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity
solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 98 years, Raytheon
provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration,
C5I® products and services, sensing, effects, and
mission support for customers in more than 80
countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham,
Mass. Follow us on Twitter.
Media Contact
Dana
Carroll
310.647.4352
saspr@raytheon.com
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