Weekly GEOINT Community News

NGA Grants $11.1M to UI Blue Waters Supercomputing Center to Map Entire Planet

The National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois was awarded a $11.1M grant from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) to work with researchers at the University of Minnesota and Ohio State University to create high-resolution topographical maps of the entire planet. The same researchers used Blue Waters to create similar digital models of the Arctic and Antarctic for the first time. The EarthDEM project will apply the same advanced mapping and data-processing techniques to the rest of the planet, producing publicly available data that will help scientists better understand Earth’s surface.

Octo Acquires Connexta

Octo announced its acquisition of Connexta, expanding its open-source and agile software development, cloud engineering, data interoperability, GEOINT, and C4ISR offerings. Connexta will act as a wholly owned subsidiary of Octo. This procurement provides government customers expanded access to Connexta services such as its Distributed Data Framework—a powerful, geospatially enabled search and integration platform—and its enterprise ISR data-sharing platform.

Altamira Acquired by Investor Group

An investor group led by ClearSky acquired Altamira Technologies Corp. Investors in the consortium include McNally Capital and Nio Advisors. With this procurement, ClearSky Managing Director Peter Kuper, McNally Capital Managing Partner Ward McNally, and ClearSky Chairman Joseph R. Wright Jr. will join Altamira’s board of directors.

Parsons Completes Acquisition of QRC Technologies

Parson Corporations completed is acquisition of QRC Technologies. Through this acquisition, Parsons plans to leverage its existing AI and data analytics core competencies to further differentiate QRC’s product portfolio and expedite actionable intelligence for its customers. This is Parsons’ first procurement as a public company and its third in the past 14 months.

Perspecta Completes Acquisition of Knight Point Systems

Perspecta announced it has completed the acquisition of Knight Point Systems for a purchase price of $250 million. This acquisition enhances Perspecta’s offerings in cloud, cyber, digital transformation, and enterprise IT that modernize and transform government mission delivery.

Maxar to Integrate Pollution Monitoring Payload for NASA

NASA selected Maxar to integrate and fly its Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument on a 1300-class satellite in geostationary (GEO) orbit. Maxar previously completed a study to accommodate TEMPO on a commercial GEO satellite. The instrument is currently slated for launch by 2022.

CACI Awarded Language Training and Cultural Expertise Contract

CACI International Inc. secured a contract worth approximately $232 million to provide high-level language training and cultural expertise to an Intelligence Community customer for about five years. CACI will provide intelligence professionals with all levels of language training.

Orbit Logic Selected for Machine Learning Contract

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) selected Orbit Logic for a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) special topic contract to develop innovative solutions for space data analytics to include data fusion, AI, and machine learning. The team will create image recognition in SpyMeSat (IRIS), updating the SpyMeSat mobile app and supporting server that enables browsing of multiple commercial satellite imagery archives, imagery downloading, and new tasking of imaging satellites.

Mapbox and Sparkgeo Announce Web Map Analytics Integration

Mapbox and Sparkgeo announced a new integration of web map analytics technology Maptiks with Mapbox GL web maps. The integration will provide developers using Mapbox GL access to Maptik’s robust map analytics. 

Peer Intel

Cesium announced Bonnie Bogle as its new COO. This news comes less than a month after Cesium broke away from Analytical Graphics Inc. to be a standalone company following a $5 million investment.

Robert Cardillo, former NGA director and founder and president of The Cardillo Group, was appointed to the board of directors at Analytical Graphics Inc. (AGI).

Jim Carlini succeeded Leidos chief technology officer Jim Cantor, who assumed the role of chief of performance excellence and strategic partnerships.

SAIC announced Nazzic S. Keene as CEO effective Aug. 1. Keene, who most recently served as COO of SAIC, succeeds Tony Moraco, who retired after serving as CEO since 2013.

The T-Rex technology incubator in St. Louis, Mo., announced its new Geosaurus geospatial center will be led by Mark Tatgenhorst, who spent 33 years working at NGA.

Headline Image courtesy of the University of Illinois