News

A team of NASA and Lockheed Martin engineers has begun integrating a thermal protection system onto the crew module of the agency’s Orion deep-space exploration vehicle. NASA plans to conduct a maiden test flight for the Orion spacecraft by Dec. 4, Lockheed said Wednesday. The test’s goal is to evaluate if the heat shield will […] More

Exelis has received a multimillion-dollar contract to help Japan’s national aerospace exploration agency develop a satellite payload for global atmospheric monitoring. The company will build a thermal and near infrared sensor for installation on the agency’s Greenhouse Gas Observing Satellite-2, Exelis said Tuesday. GOSAT is scheduled for a 2018 launch and will work to measure […] More

Executives from Boeing, Intelsat and SpaceX and SSL Federal gathered Tuesday at the National Space Symposium to discuss government innovation and industry consolidation trends in light of the current fiscal environment, Defense News reported Monday. Aaron Mehta writes that Kay Sears, president of Intelsat General, told the forum audience that spending cuts have actually resulted […] More

Air Force Gen. William Shelton has said the branch continues to move forward with efforts to certify SpaceX as a contractor to compete for satellite launch work, Reuters reported Wednesday. Andrea Shalal write that Shelton, chief of the Air Force Space Command, sees the process concluding by either the year’s end or in early 2015 and […] More

Lockheed Martin Corp.’s space systems division plans to open hundreds of new satellite design and manufacturing jobs at its Denver, Colo.-based headquarters in June, the Denver Business Journal reported Monday. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. recently moved some of its employees to the new campus in Jefferson County and an additional 350 workers are set […] More

IBM has acquired artificial intelligence firm Cognea with the goal of integrating Cognea’s AI technology into the Watson computing system, TechCrunch reported Monday. Leena Rao writes that Cognea offers a virtual assistant software that is designed to make computers generate human-like conversational behavior. “We believe this focus on creating depth of personality, when combined with […] More