Weekly GEOINT Community News

Ball Aerospace Selected to Integrate and Test “Sailcraft” for NASA Solar Propulsion Technology Demonstration, Dewberry Awarded NOAA Task Order for Alaska Coastal Mapping Coordination, SAIC Wins $830 Million U.S. Army Contract for Aviation Systems Engineering Services, and More

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Ball Aerospace Selected to Integrate and Test “Sailcraft” for NASA Solar Propulsion Technology Demonstration

Ball Aerospace has been selected to support Solar Cruiser, a NASA small satellite technology demonstration on the use of solar photons for propulsion in space. Ball will perform several mission-critical functions, including the integration and test of the satellite bus with the solar sail system that will form the completed “Sailcraft.” The Solar Cruiser will be one of four missions launching with the NASA Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), currently scheduled in 2025. Once in orbit, the spacecraft will deploy an 18,000-square-foot sail – roughly the size of four regulation basketball courts stitched together – to catch solar radiation to propel the vehicle. Ball Aerospace will be responsible for procuring a Venus-class microsat commercial bus, defining all necessary mission-specific modifications, and performing the integration and test of the completed Sailcraft. In addition to Solar Cruiser, Ball Aerospace will play roles on two of the other three missions launching on NASA’s IMAP—the Global Lyman-alpha Imagers of the Dynamic Exosphere (GLIDE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On (SWFO).

Ball Aerospace to Build Spacecraft for NASA Heliophysics Science Mission

Ball Aerospace was selected to build the spacecraft for NASA’s Global Lyman-alpha Imager of the Dynamic Exosphere (GLIDE) heliophysics science Mission of Opportunity. GLIDE will study variability in Earth’s exosphere, the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere where it touches space, by tracking far ultraviolet light emitted from hydrogen. The GLIDE spacecraft design will be based on the Ball Configurable Platform (BCP), which is a customizable and proven spacecraft, designed for flexible, cost-effective applications, using a common spacecraft bus and standard payload interfaces to reduce cost, streamline payload accommodation and minimize delivery time.

Dewberry Awarded NOAA Task Order for Alaska Coastal Mapping Coordination

Dewberry has announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded the firm a task order to assist in the implementation of the 2020 Alaska Coastal Mapping Strategy (ACMS). ACMS is a product of the Alaska Mapping Executive Committee (AMEC), an interagency federal and state partnership in which NOAA is a participant. ACMS addresses the need for coastal and nearshore elevation and imagery data to support Alaska and federal coastal mapping for products such as NOAA nautical charts and the need for a seamless topobathymetric 3D surface with both underwater bathymetry and onshore topography. In coordination with NOAA, including the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), Office of Coast Survey (OCS), Office of Coastal Management (OCM), other federal agencies, the state of Alaska, local, and native entities, the firm will provide planning, coordination, management, and technology research services.

SAIC Wins $830 Million U.S. Army Contract for Aviation Systems Engineering Services

SAIC has won an $830 million contract to continue providing hardware in-the-loop (HWIL) aviation systems engineering services for the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Aviation & Missile Center (DEVCOM AvMC), Software, Simulation, Systems Engineering and Integration (S3I) Directorate. Under the potential 5.5-year contract, SAIC will continue to provide systems engineering and integration services to all branches of the armed services and their associated program executive offices/program managers, Department of Defense components, combatant commanders, science and technology programs, other government agencies, test/training commands, cooperative research and development and education agreement partners, universities and research centers/institutes, life cycle sustainment commands, and foreign military sales activities.

Accenture Acquires Edenhouse, Boosting SAP Cloud Capabilities and Leadership in the UK

Accenture has acquired Edenhouse, a UK-based independent SAP partner. The acquisition will further enhance Accenture’s capabilities to support clients in their digital transformation journey. The acquisition will scale Accenture’s capabilities in the UK to address accelerated demand for SAP’s cloud-based solutions. Edenhouse’s team of 220 professionals will join Accenture’s SAP Business Group in the UK to support the local business while benefiting from access to global resources and skills.

Peer Intel

Leidos announced today that chairman and chief executive officer Roger A. Krone was recently elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Membership in the Academy is among the highest professional distinctions in engineering. Krone was elected to the Academy for his technical leadership in industry engineering and advances in aerospace and information technology programs.

Northrop Grumman employee Karen “Lori” Hickman was honored at the 35th annual Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Global Competitiveness Conference held this past weekend as an all-digital event. Hickman received the 2021 BEYA Community Service in Industry Award, recognizing her leadership in STEM through volunteer work, contributions, and other activities outside of her job. She is a program cost schedule and control analyst in Northrop Grumman’s Aeronautics Systems Sector. Last year she volunteered more than 1000 hours of community service and was recognized by Northrop Grumman’s African American Task Group as Volunteer of the Year.

Featured image: Ball Aerospace selected to integrate and test “Sailcraft” for NASA Solar Propulsion Technology Demonstration. | Image Credit: Ball Aerospace

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