Weekly GEOINT Community News

Northrop Grumman Completes Preliminary Design Review for NASA’s Gateway Crew Module, Parsons Accelerates Denver’s Intelligent Transportation Transformation, Perspecta Labs Awarded $13M to Continue Development of RF Communications Solution for the U.S. Army, and More

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Northrop Grumman Completes Preliminary Design Review for NASA’s Gateway Crew Module

Northrop Grumman successfully completed its initial preliminary design review (PDR) event for the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO). The module will serve as living quarters for astronauts at the Gateway during lunar exploration missions. The design for HALO is based on Northrop Grumman’s flight-proven Cygnus spacecraft, a human-capable vehicle that delivers supplies, equipment, and experiments to the International Space Station. Design upgrades for HALO include command and control systems, as well as environmental control and life support systems. The HALO module is key to NASA’s Lunar Gateway, serving both as a crew habitat and docking hub for vehicles navigating between Earth and the moon. With NASA’s Orion spacecraft docked, HALO will be able to sustain up to four astronauts for up to 30 days as they travel to and from the lunar surface. Northrop Grumman’s work on HALO is a follow-on to the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships 2 (NextSTEP-2) program, where the company used virtual reality and 3D-printed models to support rapid prototyping of the NextSTEP-2 habitat modules.

Parsons Accelerates Denver’s Intelligent Transportation Transformation

Parson was selected to provide program management for the City and County of Denver’s Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) Connected Vehicle (CV) project. The company will oversee the data integration of Internet of Things devices at intersections and in city vehicles such as snowplows, improving situational awareness for drivers and operators of the Traffic Management Center (TMC). The project includes technical project coordination, systems integration for the connected vehicle ecosystem, testing, deployment, cybersecurity, and training for City and County of Denver personnel. This work is part of a contract to provide numerous smart city solutions for the City and County of Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, which aims to increase mobility and safety while reducing congestion and fighting climate change. The contract includes services ranging from systems engineering with agile development and intelligent systems to data systems and infrastructure, technical documentation, and more.

Perspecta Labs Awarded $13M to Continue Development of RF Communications Solution for the U.S. Army

Perspecta’s innovative applied research arm, Perspecta Labs, received an award on the modular radio frequency (ModRF) program for the U.S. Army from the Consortium Management Group, Inc., on behalf of the Consortium for Command, Control, and Communications in Cyberspace (C5). This award, which represents follow-on work for the company, has a value of $13 million. The objective of the program is to provide an efficient, agile, and modular RF communications capability to the warfighter to enable successful mission execution in congested and contested environments. Current tactical radio systems require burdensome and error-prone manual steps not only for initial configuration of radio and networking parameters at setup, but also for execution of the primary, alternate, contingency, emergency (PACE) communications plan, which is used each time there is degradation, interference, or system failure. For the program, Perspecta Labs will design, develop, integrate, and demonstrate an automated PACE capability which will significantly reduce the burden on the warfighter and improve network resilience. Leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence, Perspecta Labs’ automated PACE technology will deliver network awareness to automatically optimize network configuration and data routing among available tactical radio networks, saving time and providing resilient communications under dynamic, congested and contested conditions. 

SAIC Wins Task Order to Help U.S. CBP Assess Threats from Travelers and Cargo Crossing the Border

SAIC was awarded a task order worth up to $973 million by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to operate, maintain, and enhance CBP’s cornerstone system for identifying travelers and cargo that present a potential security threat to the country. The award for CBP’s Targeting and Analysis Systems Program Directorate (TASPD) Information Technology Operations and Maintenance, Upgrades, Updates, Modifications and Enhancements Services task order, made under the General Services Administration’s Alliant 2 contract, includes transition, a one-year base period of performance, four one-year option periods, and a six-month optional extension of services. The total award value including all options is $973 million. Under the task order, SAIC will continue to develop and maintain CBP’s targeting and analysis systems that integrate technologies and data in real-time, enabling CBP officers, analysts, and agents to flag shipments and travelers for additional examination and inspection. SAIC will deploy new capabilities such as cloud-based analytics and AI/machine learning to facilitate legitimate travel and trade, identify high-risk travelers and cargo faster, and enable CBP to maximize application of its skilled workforce.

Accenture Acquires Arca to Bolster its 5G Network Capabilities

Accenture acquired Arca, a Spanish engineering services company with a focus on network operations and business services. The acquisition will reinforce Accenture’s role as a key partner for the engineering, design, deployment, and operation of network services—voice, data, video, fixed, mobile, 5G, and IoT—for clients in the telecommunications, industrial, energy and infrastructure industries, among others. It will also enhance the company’s network capabilities in Spain and Portugal, offering clients a comprehensive set of transformation services across 5G network deployment, engineering, operations, and industry services.

 Raytheon Intelligence & Space to acquire Blue Canyon Technologies

Raytheon Technologies signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Blue Canyon Technologies, a leading provider of small satellites and spacecraft systems components. Closure of the acquisition, expected by early 2021, is subject to the completion of customary conditions and regulatory approvals. Blue Canyon Technologies will report into Raytheon Intelligence & Space upon closing.

Featured Image: Artist illustration of Northrop Grumman’s HALO module and the Power Propulsion Element which form the first critical component of NASA’s Gateway. Image Credit: Northrop Grumman

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