Federal spending plan puts halt to Fort Wayne satellite instrument project

(Photo Supplied/Harris Corp.)

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): The federal spending plan approved by Congress and President Trump last week has shelved a satellite instrument that was under development in Fort Wayne.

The Radiation Budget Instrument, which was under construction at the Harris Corp. plant at the intersection of Lima and Cook Roads, would’ve launched on the Joint Polar Satellite System in 2021 and measured sunlight reflected by the Earth, studying the effects of radiation on the atmosphere and climate.

But the Journal Gazette reports that President Trump proposed killing the project last year, and as a result, the $208-million project went unfunded in the $1.3-trillion Omnibus bill. The project, which is 80% done, will be shut down by the end of April.

NASA will be keeping what hardware did get finished.

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