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NASA Awards ENSCO Contract to Develop and Field Test Atmospheric Probes

Falls Church, Va., and Melbourne, Fla., September 7, 2006 — ENSCO Inc., a diversified research, development and information technology company, announced today that their Microsystems and Nanotechnology business area has been awarded a contract from NASA to develop and field test atmospheric probes.

ENSCO’s concept, known as Global Environmental Micro Sensors (GEMS), features an ensemble of miniature balloons filled with helium to make them neutrally buoyant so they float at pre-determined altitudes. Each probe will contain electronics and sensors that measure temperature, relative humidity, and barometric pressure. The probes will report their positions and velocities from an onboard micro global positioning system and use one-way radio frequency communication with low-earth orbiting satellites to relay data to ground stations. ENSCO is incorporating advanced materials in the design of the GEMS shell that so the probes can remain airborne for long periods of time. This capability is critical in order for the probes to collect a large amount of data over wide portions of the atmosphere.

By leveraging current advances in nanotechnology, the mass and size as well as the manufacturing costs of GEMS, can be reduced substantially so that large numbers of probes could be deployed routinely to support NASA ground and launch operations. A full-scale operational GEMS system has the potential to increase significantly the amount of in situ weather observations leading to improvements in the accuracy of short term weather forecasts. Improving meteorological forecasts can reduce both weather hazards and weather-related scrubs for NASA, thus enhancing safety and reducing costs for the space program.

“Weather prediction today relies upon weather balloons, which are costly and do not remain in the atmosphere for great lengths of time,” said ENSCO’s Director of Advanced Technologies, John Manobianco. The GEMS probes can be mass produced and when deployed in situ, they will remain in the atmosphere collecting critical weather data and monitoring the rate at which the weather is changing. The probes can also be deployed where environmental measurements are sparse, which can help to paint a more complete meteorological picture.

The contract is a follow-on project from ENSCO’s earlier work on a multi-phase feasibility study of GEMS for the Universities Space Research Association’s NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. The goal of the current effort, entitled GEMSTONE (GEMS Test Operations in the Natural Environment), is to build and field test a limited number of prototype probes in the atmosphere under actual flight conditions.

“We look forward to working closely with the NASA Kennedy Space Center Weather Office to design and test the system,” said Manobianco. “This is an exciting project with many applications; weather is just the beginning.”

About ENSCO, Inc.

ENSCO, Inc. provides engineering, science and advanced technology solutions for the defense, security, transportation, environment, and aerospace industries. Founded in 1969, ENSCO is a $100 million, 850-person, privately owned corporation. Headquartered in Falls Church, Va., ENSCO has major offices in Springfield, Va., Endicott, N.Y., Melbourne, Fla. and Cocoa Beach, Fla.; field offices throughout the United States; and sales agent offices in China, Israel, the United Kingdom and throughout central and eastern Europe.
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