Tempus Wins NASA/JPL Aircraft Spectrometer Contract

Tempus Applied Solutions said it has been awarded an aircraft modification contract with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Financial terms of the contract were not provided.

Under the contract, Tempus will design, engineer, modify and seek Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification of a Gulfstream IV aircraft integrated with a portable remote imaging spectrometer (PRISM), a specialized hyperspectral sensor developed by NASA and JPL, to survey the condition of the coral reef systems around the world as part of a NASA field expedition.

Modifications are taking place at Tempus' Brunswick, Maine, facility. The 84,000-sq-ft facility enables execution of the required modifications, including airframe structure, interior design, electrical changes, primary and secondary controls, and avionics.

The engineering support team based in Williamsburg, Va., will provide more than 5,000 hours of engineering support for the modification project. Tempus said it has applied for an FAA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for this unique modification and expects to receive the certification approval and intellectual property rights later this year.

After completion of the modifications, Tempus will fly the aircraft several hundred hours annually in a variety of locations around the world in support of the sensor operations and data collection efforts of NASA and JPL. The first flight is scheduled to depart in early June 2016 to the Pacific region with a scientist team onboard after the aircraft completes its post modification tests during the last week of May.