A new MarketsandMarkets research report predicts the global drones market will achieve a compound annual growth rate of 32.22 percent from 2015 through 2020, buoyed by regulatory relaxations on unmanned aerial vehicles. MarketsandMarkets said Monday the report foresees a $5.59 billion industry in five years, up from $663.4 million in 2014. The report indicates that huge demand for […] More

NASA has issued a solicitation in search of proposals from industry and academic institutions for ideas on how to build solar array platforms for use in future human and robotic space exploration missions. The space agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate is interested in new solar array systems that work in high-radiation and low-temperature environments, NASA said Thursday. STMD plans to award […] More

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Masten Space Systems around $19.5 million in contract funds to continue building prototype robotic spaceplanes, Space.com reported Friday. Mike Wall writes the three companies moved into phase 1B of the agency’s Experimental Spaceplane-1 development initiative. Boeing and Northrop received $4 million each […] More

A MarketsandMarkets report projects that unmanned aerial vehicles for commercial use will grow from a $15.22 million business in 2014 to a $1.27 billion market by 2020. The compound annual growth rate for the commercial UAV industry is projected to reach 109.31 percent over the next six years, MarketsandMarkets said Wednesday. The research firm also […] More

Omar Balkissoon, co-founder and CEO of OGSystems, said Monday the company has used an investment from venture capital firm General Catalyst to develop new technology products for defense and intelligence customers. “We… are responding to the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s call for action to innovate and increase research and development activities addressing the […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne has been selected to complete development work for NASA’s gridded ion thruster system under a nearly $18 million contract with Glenn Research Center. The company will carry out the task on the Evolutionary Xenon Thruster-Commercial system and power processing units designed to pump solar power into each of the thruster’s components, Aerojet Rocketdyne said […] More

A new ASDReports study projects the commercial unmanned aerial vehicle market to reach $1.27 billion by 2020 from $15.22 million in 2014, up 109.31 percent year over year during the forecast period. The report indicates that an increase in demand for law enforcement applications contributes a major portion to the market’s growth, ASDReports said Feb. […] More

Lockheed Martin has entered the final production stage of a new Mars lander that is scheduled for launch by NASA in March 2016. The company said Monday its technicians will integrate avionics, power, telecommunication, navigation, control, guidance and thermal systems in the InSight spacecraft during the six-month assembly phase. “Physically, InSight looks very much like […] More

Commercial and government efforts are underway to build unmanned and autonomous underwater vehicles that can be used for naval warfare, environmental research and recovery mission, National Defense Magazine reports. Yasmin Tadjdeh writes that Michael Toscano, president and CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, believes that UUV technology has limitless applications and will […] More

Lockheed Martin is set to begin construction on a robotic probe that NASA plans to send Mars to examine that planet’s interior. NASA plans to launch the Insight lander from a California site in March 2016 and expects the spacecraft to reach its destination six months later, Lockheed said Monday. The project aims to study […] More

ATK has developed and tested a photovoltaic array for solar electric propulsion systems that NASA intends to use to power future robotic and manned spacecraft. The company’s MegaFlex solar array wing has a diameter of 32 feet and is designed to generate up to 400 kilowatts of electric power, ATK said Wednesday. “The completion of […] More

Lockheed Martin celebrated National Engineers Week in central Florida with simulator demonstrations, engineering game shows, robotics competitions and tours. More than 3,000 local students participated in the science, technology, engineering and Lockheed Martin sponsored math events that took place Feb. 16 to 22, the company announced Thursday. “It is innovation with purpose that drives us […] More