EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Nov. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite has produced its first image aboard the recently launched NASA NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft. The visible spectrum image shows the East Coast of the United States in unprecedented sharpness and detail.

"The VIIRS visible imager is performing excellently and we expect the data will be of great value to the weather and climate monitoring communities," said Bill Hart, vice president of Space Systems for Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems business. "We look forward to continued high quality imagery and expect other facets of the instrument to check out equally well."

NPP will function as a bridge between current NOAA operational weather and NASA climate research satellites and a new group of satellites known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). VIIRS is the primary JPSS instrument responsible for global imagery, land and sea surface temperature monitoring, cloud characterization and other key environmental data.

About Raytheon

Raytheon Company, with 2010 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 89 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide. For more about Raytheon, visit us at www.raytheon.com and follow us on Twitter at @raytheon.

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SOURCE Raytheon Company