[SatNews] Exelis (NYSE: XLS) has been awarded a multimillion-dollar commercial contract to build the primary payload for the Greenhouse Gas Observing Satellite-2 (GOSAT), which Mitsubishi Electric Corporation will build for the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Artistic rendition of Mitsubishi's GOSAT-2 satellite.

The Exelis-built payload known as TANSO-FTS (Thermal and Near Infrared Sensor for carbon Observation-Fourier Transform Spectrometer) will measure the density of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The satellite is planned for launch in 2018.

“This award was a strategic win for Exelis as we move into climate and environmental monitoring to build on our core weather-monitoring capabilities,” said Roberto Mitrevski, vice president of environmental intelligence/integrated sensing and information solutions at Exelis. “The performance of our current Exelis weather and environmental sensors and our history of on-orbit success were critical factors in our selection.”

Developed out of Exelis core competencies in weather and image science, the TANSO-FTS reflects the company’s focus and expertise in the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and analytics enterprise area. Environmental intelligence observed by GOSAT will provide better data about the distribution of greenhouse gases for scientists to better understand climate change.

For further information, please visit the Exelis infosite at http://www.exelisinc.com/

The Mitsubishi Electric Corporations' infosite is accessible via http://www.mitsubishielectric.com/products/space/index.html