Weekly GEOINT Community News

NOAA Awards More Contracts for Commercial Weather Data Pilot

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded contracts to Spire, GeoOptics, and PlanetIQ supporting the second round of its Commercial Weather Data Pilot program. The companies will provide space-based radio occultation data to NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service. The data will be tested for its potential value to the organization’s weather prediction models, forecasts, and warnings.

Energy Department Funds $218 Million in Quantum Research

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $218 million in funding for 85 research awards in the field of Quantum Information Science (QIS). The awards go to scientists at 28 higher learning institutions nationwide and nine DOE laboratories, and cover topics ranging from computing hardware to sensors to cyber encryption. 

Planet to Share Imagery with Queensland Government

Planet signed an agreement to provide satellite imagery to the government of Queensland, Australia. The government will receive daily access to Planet’s global database as well as cloud-free mosaics of Queensland on a quarterly basis. The two-year partnership is the biggest web services agreement in Planet’s history.

DARPA Selects Teams for Subterranean Challenge

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) selected nine teams to compete in the Subterranean (SubT) Challenge to develop new approaches to map, navigate, and search underground environments. Winning organizations include Carnegie Mellon University, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation of Australia, iRobot Defense Holdings, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Nevada at Reno, the University of Pennsylvania, Michigan Technological University, and Scientific Systems Company. Teams will vie for a total of $2.75 million in prizes.

Boundless Announces Boundless Learning

Boundless announced the launch of Boundless Learning, an intuitive platform through which users can browse and search a variety of e-learning and instructor-led training courses on Boundless products as well as open-source tools such as PostGIS and OpenLayers. The program offers more than 60 e-learning courses on an array of GIS topics, including instructions with screenshots, data, and videos.

Lockheed Innovation Center Opens in Orlando

Lockheed Martin’s new Innovation Center is now open at the company’s Missiles and Fire Control facility in Orlando, Fla. The 6,500-square-foot space features five specialized labs and serves more than 5,000 employees. Virtual reality, robotics, computer-simulated environments, 3D printing, and more are now available at employees’ fingertips. 

AGC, DSS to Host Small Business Events

The U.S. Army Geospatial Center (AGC) will host its first Virtual Small Business Forum next month. The event serves to introduce AGC to potential industry partners, to expand the center’s industrial base, and to find innovative ways to provide warfighters with timely and accurate geospatial information, capabilities, and domain expertise. The forum will be held October 25 and registration is free. 

The Defense Security Service (DSS) will host a small business event October 3 at the Gray Research Center at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. The event will outline directorate overviews and priorities given by DSS senior leaders. Registration will open October 2 on Eventbrite.

Peer Intel

The Defense Innovation Unit last week welcomed Michael Brown as its new managing director. Brown has experience in hardware and software at Quantum and Symantec, and will lead the organization in its next chapter as a permanent pipeline of innovative technology to the U.S. Defense Department.

Siemens Government Technologies appointed Tina Dolph president and CEO effective October 1. Dolph has more than two decades of experience, including operational and functional roles at Lockheed Martin, PAE, ASRC Federal, and CRDF Global.

Photo Credit: Planet