WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., Dec. 16, 2009 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been selected to supply a Scalable Space Inertial Reference Unit (Scalable SIRU(TM)) for NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission.

The Scalable SIRU(TM) is an inertial reference system that supplies critical rotation rate data that enables the stabilization, pointing, and attitude control of satellites and space vehicles. For the GPM mission, the Scalable SIRU(TM) will be installed on the GPM Core Observatory satellite.

"Northrop Grumman's space-qualified, flight-proven Scalable SIRU(TM) was selected by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center for the GPM mission on the basis of superior technical quality and performance," stated Gorik Hossepian, vice president of Navigation and Positioning Systems for Northrop Grumman's Navigation Systems Division. "Our Scalable SIRU offers high performance and accuracy, which is critical to the success of this mission."

The satellite-based GPM mission will study global precipitation from space, allowing regional and global scale precipitation measurement, which cannot be easily collected from the ground. The Core Observatory, which will serve as the reference standard for precipitation estimates from other GPM constellation spacecraft, is scheduled to launch on July 21, 2013. Accurate physical orientation of the Core Spacecraft is vital to ensure the correct mapping of precipitation data originating on Earth.

Northrop Grumman's Scalable SIRU(TM) is the industry standard for high precision, long-life attitude control solutions supporting commercial, government and civil space missions. Scalable SIRU(TM) missions include earth observation, communications, and science applications in low earth orbit, geostationary, and deep space mission profiles. Northrop Grumman's Hemispherical Resonating Gyro technology installed in the Scalable SIRU(TM) has reached over 14 million operating hours in space without a mission failure.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide. 

  CONTACT:  Gina Piellusch
          Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems
          (818) 715-2285
          gina.piellusch@ngc.com