Nasa has awarded two sole source contracts for the common ground system and a scientific instrument on the first joint polar satellite system (JPSS-1).

On behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Nasa awarded the visible infrared imager radiometer suite (VIIRS) instrument contract to Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems.

Under the $314m contract, the firm will design, manufacture, test and deliver two VIIRS instruments before September 2018.

VIIRS will gather data on a wide range of Earth’s properties, including the atmosphere, clouds, radiation budget, clear-air land and water surfaces, and sea surface temperature.

The $1.4bn common ground system contract has been awarded to Raytheon, responsible for design, manufacture, test and deliver hardware, software, and related services for the mission operations of the JPSS ground system.

JPSS, the restructured portion of the national polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite system (NPOESS), will make afternoon observations on its orbit.