Weekly GEOINT Community News

Protecting and Securing SATCOMs, Maxar & New Zealand Sign MOU to Collaborate on Space Programs, Perspecta awarded $38M for Defense Manpower Data Center’s Contractor Management System, and More

Antenna_RaytheonTechnologies

Protecting and Securing SATCOMs

Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a Raytheon Technologies business, is participating in a U.S. Space Force study to build modernized ground segment systems for a new fleet of satellites. The satellites would first augment the current strategic communications services provided by the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) system, then eventually replace them. It’s all part of the Space Force’s Evolved Strategic SATCOM mission, also called ESS. For Raytheon Technologies’ part, the goal is to make adding features to the ground systems as easy as updating a smartphone. Raytheon Intelligence & Space will pull technology from its proven programs, including the current AEHF satellite communications system and ground control systems such as the Joint Polar Satellite System Common Ground System and GPS Next-Generation Operational Control System. The ESS ground control segment will satisfy emerging requirements and provide cyber capabilities and resiliency to meet the challenges of the future.

Maxar and New Zealand Sign MOU to Collaborate on Space Programs

Maxar Technologies has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with New Zealand’s Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment (MBIE) to work together to explore opportunities for collaboration across a range of space and technology domains. Maxar CEO Dan Jablonsky and MBIE Chief Executive Carolyn Tremain met virtually on Feb. 22 to sign the agreement. The MOU outlines areas of potential collaboration that include next-generation Earth observation satellites and ground station; maritime domain awareness services; advanced analytics of Earth observation data; and space-focused, STEM education programs.

Perspecta awarded $38M for Defense Manpower Data Center’s Contractor Management System

Perspecta has received an award to continue supporting the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) with a mission-critical program for contractor management. The award spans five years, including four option years, with a ceiling value of $38 million. Under the agreement, Perspecta will modernize the Synchronized Predeployment and Operational Tracker – Enterprise Suite (SPOT-ES). This will enable the DMDC to monitor threats in environments with deployed contractors and inform U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) decision-makers about the status of personnel, training, and security related to humanitarian and peacekeeping missions. Specifically, Perspecta will provide cloud migration, software development, quality assurance, 24/7 help desk support, and training.

GeoInnovation National Geospatial Speaker Series to Feature Maxar’s Nancy Coleman, New Vista’s Dennis Muilenburg for March 3 Event

The GeoInnovation National Speaker Series, a national speaker series focused on geospatial innovation that shines a monthly spotlight on St. Louis’ fast-growing geospatial ecosystem, will feature Nancy Coleman, Maxar Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, for its March edition. The discussion with Coleman will take place via Zoom March 3, 2021, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. (CT) and will be moderated by Dennis Muilenburg, chairman and CEO, New Vista Acquisition Corp. The GeoInnovation National Speaker Series is a collaboration between innovation hubs Cortex and T-REX and GeoFutures, an initiative of the recently formed regional economic development organization Greater St. Louis, Inc. that was launched in October 2019 to bolster the St. Louis region’s rapidly growing geospatial sector and develop a strategic plan for the future.

Announcing NFI Blue Waters Training Sessions

The New Frontiers Initiative (NFI) at the University of Illinois announced two new training topics in cooperation with the Blue Waters project. The NFI in cooperation with the Blue Waters Project at the University of Illinois offers a variety of webinars throughout the year to learn about the range of research, software development, and workforce development activities among its partners and the University of Illinois. Two upcoming events include:

  • March 2, 2021 – Introduction to HPC and Blue Waters
  • March 16, 2021 – Python in an HPC Environment

Leidos and Gateway Global Team Up on GEOINT Training for Students

Gateway Global and Leidos, two of the St. Louis region’s leaders in geospatial technology, announced a new partnership to provide new training resources to under-resourced high school students in urban and rural communities. This partnership will bring industry-related training to urban and rural students, helping to prepare them for the geospatial workforce of the future and aligning with two elements of the GeoFutures Strategic Roadmap, which leaders from both organizations helped develop as members of the GeoFutures Initiative Advisory Committee:

  • GeoFutures Strategic Roadmap Signature Priority: Scale up talent and workforce development to meet geospatial industry demand.
  • GeoFutures Strategic Roadmap Strategic initiative: The GeoFutures Talent Initiative, which will support and deepen ongoing K-16 and adult workforce geospatial-related technical education provider efforts, with a particular focus on under-represented communities.

This announcement also aligns with the geospatial cluster initiative from the City of St. Louis’ Equitable Economic Development Framework as well as the STL 2030 Jobs Plan, which identified geospatial technology as one of three next-generation sectors that could dramatically shape the St. Louis metropolitan region’s economy.

Peer Intel

Ball Aerospace vice president Dr. Michael Gazarik was appointed to the Technology, Innovation, and Engineering Committee of the NASA Advisory Council in July 2020. He will serve a three-year term on the standing committee that supports the NASA administrator’s advisory needs, the Office of the Chief Technologist, the Office of the Chief Engineer, and NASA Mission Directorates.

Photo Caption: Raytheon Intelligence & Space’s family of AEHF terminals ensure the National Command Authority can communicate to the armed forces anytime, anywhere. RI&S is the only provider of protected AEHF terminals in production for the U.S. military. | Photo Credit: Raytheon Intelligence & Space

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