Industry News

NASA has conducted a series of tests with Orbital ATK, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne to evaluate the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System rocket that the agency plans to launch in 2018 as part of an unmanned space exploration mission. Lockheed’s engineering teams have completed proof pressure tests on the Orion crew […] More

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates has been awarded an $11.4 million contract option by Canada’s department of national defense to develop space-based synthetic aperture radar technology for a maritime surveillance project. The radar will be built to support the Polar Epsilon 2 broad-area maritime surveillance system that will utilize Canada’s RADARSAT Constellation Mission, MDA said Thursday. PE2 ground systems are designed to receive and process information from RCM SAR satellites […] More

DigitalGlobe, United Launch Alliance and the U.S. Air Force are evaluating a potential launch window of between late October and early November launch window for the WorldView-4 satellite. DigitalGlobe said Monday it has delayed the launch of WorldView-4 as work to restore and assess infrastructure at Vandenberg Air Force Base continues following a series of […] More

The U.S. Navy‘s unmanned maritime systems program office and Naval Undersea Warfare Center Newport Division held an industry information day to discuss the service branch’s plan to procure a new class of large-displacement unmanned undersea vehicles. The forum drew 265 representatives from 138 companies and sought to inform interested vendors on the Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle program, the Navy said Thursday. […] More

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin outfit carried out a test flight that had a crew capsule go through a simulated rocket failure in Texas in support of preparations to launch a suborbital system for space tourists in 2018, USA Today reported Wednesday. James Dean writes the New Shepard vehicle booster survived the unmanned test to complete the fifth flight and will be retired […] More

Desktop Alert has received a new certificate of networthiness from the U.S. Army for the latest version of the company’s mass notification system designed to provide warning and instructions to personnel in the event of a critical situation. Version 5 of the Total Alert System works to contact installation computer users and require them to confirm receipt of desktop alert messages that […] More

NASA wants technology ideas from citizen inventors that can help create 3D-printed shelters for space explorers as part of the second phase of a $1.1 million challenge. The agency said Friday it started the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge to search for material technologies that could help print shelters from a combination of readily-available and recyclable materials. “Shelter is an obvious necessity as we prepare to explore […] More

The Department of Homeland Security‘s science and technology directorate has chosen 10 startup companies to join a new research-and-development program that seeks to build  wearable devices for first responders. DHS said Thursday the EMERGE 2016: Wearable Technology program offers startups the opportunity to equip emergency response personnel with body-worn electronics, sensors and integrated voice and data communications systems. “We need […] More

Summit Consulting has received a pair of contracts to from the U.S. Labor Department‘s chief evaluation office to assess a civil law enforcement program run by the Employee Benefits Security Administration and develop business intelligence tools to support EBSA’s investigative efforts. The company said Wednesday it will build BI reporting tools based on multiple predictive models in an effort to help […] More

The Defense Logistics Agency has released a sources sought synopsis as part of its research into vendors that can supply DLA with antennas. DIA approved Boeing and Cobham‘s advanced electronic cage business as potential supply sources and the agency will use data from its market survey to determine the method of procurement for antennas, U.S. Federal Contractor Registration said Wednesday. USFCR added that interested contractors can submit […] More

Capstone has secured a task order from the Naval Supply Systems Command’s Fleet Logistics Center for staffing services to nine U.S. Navy regional command operations centers. Capstone said Monday it teamed up with Tenica and Associates to provide watch stander support for the military branch’s operations centers in the mid-Atlantic, Japan, Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia and Southwest Asia regions. The order was […] More

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall met with three defense trade associations in an effort to understand and address issues that affect the aerospace and defense industry. CEOs and senior executives from the National Defense Industrial Association, Aerospace Industries Association and the Professional Services Council discussed acquisition and budget challenges within the […] More