State College, PA -- NASA Ames Research Center engineers selected commercial off-the-shelf products manufactured by RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc. to be used in connection with a specialized, light measuring instrument aboard the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS). LCROSS – NASA’s mission to search for water on the moon – was successfully launched on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on June 18, 2009 along with its companion mission, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

LCROSS and its attached Centaur upper stage rocket separately will collide with the moon on Oct. 9, 2009. Centaur will impact first, while the shepherding spacecraft follows close behind to observe the collision, and analyze the debris plume before making its own lunar impact. Both plumes of debris will be analyzed for the presence of water-ice and water-vapor. The science instrument payload aboard LCROSS consists of five cameras, three spectrometers, a total luminance photometer (TLP), and a data-handling unit. RTD’s IDAN® system provides power and data-transfer for the TLP – the high-speed instrument that will measure the flash created by the Centaur impact.

RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc. designs and manufactures highly sophisticated, rugged, embedded computer modules and systems for industrial, Military, and aerospace applications. Meeting a broad scope of technical needs, RTD devices aid researchers, engineers, and military personnel across the globe and in space. RTD is a small business based in State College, Pennsylvania. Since 1985, it has provided quality, technical jobs to the central Pennsylvania region and has employed the services of shops and vendors across America, which helps to sustain the US manufacturing industrial base.

Because of their unique, innovative, flexible, fast-paced, and cost-effective nature, RTD remains a leader in embedded technology. Learn more at www.rtd.com.