Industry News

NASA is seeking ideas from the private sector on how to build a robotic spacecraft technology for future unmanned asteroid and satellite servicing missions. The agency said Tuesday it aims to launch spacecraft in 2020 to snag a large boulder from a near-Earth asteroid’s surface and place the rock in lunar orbit for examination. “Today’s call […] More

Raytheon is set to kick off low rate initial production of small diameter bombs after the company completed a decision briefing for the weapon system in coordination with the U.S. Air Force. The company conducted the Milestone C briefing after performing functional configuration audit, production readiness review and system verification on the Small Diameter Bomb II […] More

In-Q-Tel has invested an undisclosed amount in Atlas Wearables to help that company further develop a technology for monitoring physical activities. Atlas’ flagship wristband product is designed to employ machine learning and analytics to help athletes and fitness professionals monitor workout routine, heart rate and calories burned, Atlas said Monday. The Austin, Texas-based technology firm […] More

The U.S. Navy is examining the potential of a contract competition to help the branch dispose of the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise aircraft carrier, Defense News reported Sunday. Christopher Cavas writes that the Naval Sea Systems Command is considering the use of commercial services to dismantle the Enterprise due to potential capacity or cost limitations with the service’s current arrangement at […] More

AtrocityWatch has licensed a social analytics technology from Mitre Corp. in an effort to help peacekeepers forecast humanitarian atrocities globally. Mitre said Wednesday the nonprofit organization intends to use the platform to detect early indicators of war crimes, genocide and other crimes against humanity. “We are honored to see MITRE’s vision and pioneering research in […] More

Robert Coen, program director for the National Institutes of Health’s Chief Information Officer-Commodity Solutions governmentwide acquisition contract, has said the vehicle could complete Carnegie Mellon University’s assessment program by the end of 2015, Federal Times reported Friday. Aaron Boyd writes the CIO-CS vehicle would be the first governmentwide acquisition contract to obtain a level-three Carnegie Mellon Capability […] More

Exelis has picked Sierra Nevada Corp. to construct the radiation instrument for NASA’s Joint Polar Satellite System, Satnews reported Thursday. The radiation budget instrument will work to scan the Earth and measure the amount of reflected sunlight and emitted thermal radiation for the JPSS-2 mission, according to the report. NASA will use the JPSS-2 satellite […] More

NASA and America Makes: National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute have created a three-dimensional printing contest aimed at helping the space agency design and build new systems for inhabiting deep space. The 3-D Printed Habitat Challenge is created through the agency’s Centennial Challenges Program and offers up to $2.25 million in prizes, NASA said Saturday. The […] More

Research and Markets predicts that the global Internet of Things security market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 54.93 percent through 2019 . The company said Friday its latest market report points to compliance with regulatory requirements among “smart cities” that use IoT technology as the main driver of growth in the market. To […] More

The Department of Homeland Security has selected woman-owned small business Eagle Hill Consulting to manage the Transportation Security Administration’s programs and train TSA personnel under a $30 million, five year contract. Eagle Hill will work to handle TSA’s intermodal security training and exercise program and perform risk-based security planning for the client, Eagle Hill said […] More

Chris Chadwick, president and CEO of Boeing‘s defense, space and security business, believes industry must strive to address barriers to accelerating weapon innovation, he told Aviation Week in an interview published Thursday. He added that companies need to understand customer needs and “show them the art of the possible from an innovation perspective,” according to […] More

Lockheed Martin has finished the construction of an Orion crew module and crew module adapter mockup at the company’s Littleton, Colorado-based facility. Engineers at the Orion test laboratory will next configure the mockup with harnessing, electrical power, sensors, avionics and flight software, Lockheed said Wednesday. The crew module and adapter mockup is designed to check the […] More