Azusa : Aerojet Wins NASA Contract

NASA has awarded Aerojet’s Electronic Systems Division in Azusa a $45.5-million contract to design an instrument that will play a key role in scientists’ effort to monitor climate changes on Earth.

A spokeswoman said the new contract will not prompt hiring at the 1,700-employee division of the aerospace company, but will help secure existing jobs at the plant in a time of defense cutbacks.

The new NASA contract calls for Aerojet workers in Azusa to design a device that will measure the temperature of the atmosphere from the Earth’s surface to approximately 25 miles above it.

That device, called the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit, will be part of NASA’s Earth Observing System.