Weekly GEOINT Community News

NASA Astronauts Launch from America in Historic Test Flight of SpaceX Crew Dragon, NGA Tech Strategy Shows the Way to Geospatial Advantage, Oracle Visual Builder Platform, and More

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NASA Astronauts Launch from America in Historic Test Flight of SpaceX Crew Dragon

For the first time in history, NASA astronauts launched in a commercially built and operated American crew spacecraft from American soil to the International Space Station. The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, launched at 3:22 p.m. EDT Saturday on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission is an end-to-end test flight to validate the SpaceX crew transportation system, including launch, in-orbit, docking, and landing operations. This is the second spaceflight test of the Crew Dragon and the first test with astronauts aboard, which will pave the way for its certification for regular crew flights to the station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

NGA Tech Strategy Shows the Way to Geospatial Advantage

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) published the agency’s Technology Strategy May 29, highlighting its path to continued GEOINT dominance through improving internal processes and leveraging industry-leading technology. NGA’s Technology Strategy outlines the current technology environment, the vision for tomorrow, and how the agency and the geospatial ecosystem can reach this desired end state. It incorporates a number of key initiatives:

  • Enable builders and makers
  • Transform digital workspaces
  • Build with customers
  • Treat data as a strategic asset
  • ​Build artificial intelligence, cloud, and high-performance computing into GEOINT mainstream

​​​​​​NGA’s Technology Strategy was developed concurrently with the 2020 NGA Tech Focus Areas​, which details current and enduring agency technology needs.

Oracle Visual Builder Platform

Oracle announced the release of the Oracle Visual Builder Platform—a complete and integrated environment for development teams to develop and deliver cloud native applications. The platform consists of a development interface and a runtime/hosting service, Visual Builder Studio, and Visual Builder service respectively. The Visual Builder Platform integrates the features of Oracle Visual Builder and Oracle Developer Cloud Service to cover the full development lifecycle from planning to delivery and hosting.

Dewberry Selected for NOAA Shoreline Mapping Contract

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded Dewberry its Shoreline Mapping Services contract, a five-year, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract with a ceiling of $40 million. Dewberry and its partners will work with NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey to develop new technologies and initiatives to protect the nation’s coasts. This is Dewberry’s second consecutive Shoreline Mapping Services contract for NOAA.

Peer Intel

Riverside Research commemorates two of their former leaders each year by presenting two prestigious awards to a select number of employees for demonstrating their commitment to technical excellence and trusted solutions. The Lawrence H. O’Neill Award, named in honor of the founder of Riverside Research, recognizes those who maintain a superior performance record over the course of several years. The winners include Randall Borah, Joe Federation, Steven Harper, Deborah Montanaro, and Dr. Joseph Rutherford. The Ralph J. Mastrandrea Memorial Award is named for the company’s late executive vice president and recognizes those with outstanding achievements throughout the past year. The winners include Lindsay Cain, Dan Callahan, Todd Irlbeck, Peter Major, and Stefan Schwartz.

ManTech has appointed Peter Ward as vice president of human resources and talent acquisition for the company’s Mission Solutions and Services (MSS) Group. Ward will leverage his two decades of experience in developing outstanding career opportunities to drive the company’s top strategic priority: nationwide recognition of ManTech as the government services contractor industry’s “employer of choice.”

Featured Image: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft | Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Weekly GEOINT Community News

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