mississippi coast geospatial news

Northrop Grumman holds ribbon-cutting

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:40:00 +0000

SLIDELL, La. - Northrop Grumman held a grand opening and ribbon cutting Monday of its new high-tech geospatial facility in Slidell, La. The new campus combined two existing Northrop Grumman offices, a temporary Slidell office and an office at Stennis Space Center, Miss. The new 20,000 square-foot facility will bring 75 high-tech jobs, including 50 new positions to St. Tammany Parish. Northrop Grumman acquired 3001 International in October 2008, giving Northrop geospatial capabilities that include airborne imaging, surveying, mapping and geographic information systems for domestic and international government intelligence, defense and civilian customers. (Source: Globe Newswire, 11/09/09)

High-tech conference set

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:49:00 +0000

JACKSON, Miss. – The 10th Conference on High Technology will be held Nov. 18-19 at the Jackson Convention Complex. It’s presented by the Mississippi Technology Alliance, Mississippi Research Consortium and the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions. Among other topics, the Hurricane Hunters from Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi and the Center for Higher Learning Visualization Center will share how they use state-of-the-art geospatial technologies. (Source: Clarion-Ledger, 11/04/09)

Geospatial growth continues

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:42:00 +0000

OXFORD, Miss. – The Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions released economic impact data for Mississippi’s geospatial technology industry cluster for 2009. It shows solid growth in employment, average annual salary and revenues, including a 14 percent growth of jobs from last year. In the past year, 847 people were employed by EIGS member companies, sustaining a pattern of growth of at least 5 percent annually over the last five years. Total payroll for the cluster is almost $34 million, generating $1.7 million in state income tax. The average annual salary is now $57,885. Revenues grew by over $20 million from last year to $125.5 million. EIGS is housed at the University of Mississippi. (Source: EIGS, 10/14/09) Gulf Coast note: Many of the EIGS geospatial companies are in and around Stennis Space Center, Miss.

World View-2 successfully launched

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:15:00 +0000

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Boeing successfully launched the WorldView-2 satellite for DigitalGlobe aboard a Delta II rocket Thursday. Liftoff was at 11:51 a.m. Pacific Time, and the Delta II released WorldView-2 about 62 minutes after liftoff into a sun-synchronous orbit. The satellite is designed to collect and record commercial, high-resolution Earth imagery. DigitalGlobe now has three satellites in its constellation. (Source: Boeing, 10/08/09) Gulf Coast note: DigitalGlobe has an office at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

MsET, Canada group to collaborate

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:54:00 +0000

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – The Mississippi Enterprise for Technology announced a partnership with Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Technology Industries. MsET, an incubator and technology transfer operation, and NATI, a private non-profit that advocates for the advanced technology community, will work to develop initiatives to support the advanced technology sector in Mississippi and Canada. The partnership will encourage commerce and collaboration between businesses and other entities in the two regions. The partnership grew out of the recent Southeastern United States – Canadian Provinces Alliance Annual Conference last month in Newfoundland and Labrador. (Source: MsET, 08/10/09)

Contract: 3001, $15M

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:02:00 +0000

3001 Inc. is being awarded an architect/engineering contract with a maximum amount of $15,000,000 for geographic information systems, professional surveying and mapping services in the NAVFAC Atlantic area of responsibility. Work will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities mostly in the eastern United States but also worldwide. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/04/09) Gulf Coast note: 3001, owned by Northrop Grumman, has operations in Slidell, La., and Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Sensor would aid in ASW training

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 04:14:00 +0000

Antisubmarine warfare training may get a new airborne tool to detect marine mammals that sometimes limit training exercises. Advanced Coherent Technologies LLC of San Diego, Calif., was awarded a $7.7 million contract for a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research project called “Living Marine Resources Imaging Sensor.” The contract provides for the continued development of a flight ready prototype sensor. Sixty percent of the work will be done in Mobile, Ala., and 40 percent in San Diego, and is expected to be completed in July 2014. The Phase I solicitation requested development of a radar system and associated algorithms to detect breaching whales in various sea states. (Source: DoD, 07/20/09)

Technology sees tunnels

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:57:00 +0000

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. – Three companies are collaborating on a system designed to detect underground tunnels and caves. The INSITE VI (IS6) system resulted from a partnership between Mississippi's AeroTec, NVision Solutions of Bay St. Louis and EnTech Engineering of St. Louis. It uses a helicopter fitted with a sensor able to detect subtle changes in terrain and ground temperature. Software processes the information to highlight locations of underground targets. Experts can fly over an area and see up to 80 feet deep into the earth to find caves, tunnels, pipes, and leaks in levees not visible from the ground. (Source: Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions, 06/17/09)

Themis to install system in China

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:55:00 +0000

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – Themis Vision Systems is installing its first system in China this year – a UV hyperspectral imaging system that will be used by a forensics institute in China. The system will be used to help with studies in forensic science, including fingerprint analysis. It’s a small, portable turnkey system with a patented scanning system developed at Stennis Space Center through the NASA Commercial Space Products Program. (Source: Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions, 06/15/09)

Lockheed awarded $1.5B for SBIRS

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:40:00 +0000

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – The Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a $1.5 billion contract for the third highly elliptical orbit (HEO-3) payload, the third geosynchronous orbit (GEO-3) satellite and associated ground modifications for the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) constellation. A contract to include a fourth HEO payload and possible fourth GEO satellite is expected to be awarded later this year. The SBIRS program is designed to provide early warning of missile launches, and simultaneously support other missions including missile defense, technical intelligence and battlespace awareness. (Source: PRNewswire, 06/02/09) Gulf Coast note: SBIRS work locations include the SBIRS Wing at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Sunnyvale, and Azusa, Calif.; Boulder, Denver, and Colorado Springs, Colo.; Gaithersburg, Md.; Valley Forge, Pa.; and Lockheed Martin Space & Technology Center at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Feature: Optech International

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:17:00 +0000

KILN, Miss. – The $1.2 million expansion of the technology center at Stennis International Airport in South Mississippi will allow tenant Optech International to begin producing later this year a new generation of highly advanced lidar systems. It will also give more space to the Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise, which does coastal mapping and charting. (Source: Alliance Insight, April 2009)

MAST picks new board members

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:43:00 +0000

The Mississippi Association for Spatial Technologies announced its incoming board of directors. The board manages the affairs and business of the non-profit, which promotes, educates, and provides assistance in professional development for the use of spatial technology in Mississippi. Incoming board members are Roger Colwell, David Hansen, David Holt, Heath Prejean, Scott Samson and Lisa Stone. (Source: EIGS, 04/13/09)

Six companies join geospatial cluster

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:23:00 +0000

OXFORD, Miss. - Six companies are the newest members of Mississippi’s geospatial technology industry cluster and have jointed the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions. They are Innovative Imaging and Research, Skylla Engineering and Themis Vision System, all of Stennis Space Center, Crowsey Inc. of Hattiesburg, Navagis of Jackson and Spatial Information Solutions Inc. of Starkville. Since 1998 Mississippi has nurtured the growth of a cluster of high tech companies in the geospatial technology industry. EIGS, based in Oxford at the University of Mississippi, is the program that coordinates the activities of this cluster. (Source: EIGS, 03/12/09)

NVision continues growth

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:44:00 +0000

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. - NVision Solutions, a geospatial company, announce a milestone of surpassing 50 employees. The company, founded in 2002, in 2007 opened a new office at Stennis Technology Park in Hancock County, just outside Stennis Space Center. In the last year NVision has nearly doubled in size, adding five contracts supporting more than two-dozen employees. (Source: NVision Solutions, 01/26/09)

Company opens Stennis office

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:52:00 +0000

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – A start-up that uses hyperspectral imaging has opened a facility at the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology incubator at Stennis Space Center's Center of Excellence in Geospatial Technologies. Themis Vision Systems, which also has offices in Virginia, California and Washington State, is conducting research and development and manufacturing at the MsET site. The technology can be used to find harmful organisms in food and be used in forensic applications. (Source: MsET, 01/14/08)

State funds geospatial software program

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:53:00 +0000

JACKSON, Miss. - The Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions and the Geospatial Council of the Institutions of Higher Learning announce that the state of Mississippi has funded the geospatial statewide software site license program for the 2008-09 academic year. The program provides remote sensing and Geospatial Information System software learning packages for use at all Institutions of Higher Learning and Community and Junior Colleges at no cost to the individual institutions. (Source: EIGS, 01/12/09)

3001 consolidating in Slidell

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 15:17:00 +0000

SLIDELL, La. - A ground breaking ceremony will be held Jan. 7 at 2 p.m. for the new Slidell office building of 3001 International Inc., a Northrop Grumman company. The 3001 International Slidell office is part of the Eastern Louisiana Consolidation Project. The new facility will combine two existing 3001 International offices, the current Slidell office and the office at the Stennis Space Center, Miss. The 20,000 square foot building will bring 85 high-tech jobs, including 50 new positions, to St. Tammany Parish. The groundbreaking is at 2050 Gause Boulevard. (Source: The American Surveyor, 12/31/08)

Two Stennis spinoffs highlighted

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:32:00 +0000

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Two technologies developed at Stennis Space Center are on the list of NASA's top 50 spinoff technologies. They appear in "Spinoff: 50 Years of NASA-derived Technologies," which celebrates the impact of the space program on everyday life. One Stennis technology is software used to study flow components. NASA uses it to design spacecraft shapes, propulsion devices and more, and the commercial sector uses it for aircraft, auto and boating aerodynamics. The other technology is the Earth Resources Laboratory Applications software developed in 1978. Since then it's been used for processing satellite and airborne sensor imagery and is called an "all-star." It's been recognized by the Space Technology Hall of Fame. (Source: NASA, 11/18/08)

Stennis seeks IT services

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:59:00 +0000

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA/SSC is soliciting information about potential sources to perform information and technical services at John C. Stennis Space Center. The new contracts are follow-on to the existing contract. Requirements are projected in management and administration; technology operations; information technology operations and support services; earth science applications services; IT, science, engineering, technology training, and education. (Source: NASA, 11/05/08)

DigitalGlobe to provide images to deCarta

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:40:00 +0000

Colorado-based DigitalGlobe signed an agreement with deCarta to provide that company's geospatial platform customers with access to DigitalGlobe's high-resolution satellite and aerial imagery. Under the agreement, deCarta customers will have access to DigitalGlobe's ImageBuilder imagery service, which provides an online library of regularly updated imagery. DigitalGlobe has an office at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Source: PRNewswire, 11/06/08)

Northrop to highlight 3001 buy at GEOINT

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 05:14:00 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation's GEOINT 2008 Symposium is being held Oct. 27-30 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. Among the companies attending will be Northrop Grumman, which plans to highlight its recent acquisition of 3001 International, Inc., a provider of geospatial data production and analysis. (Source: Globe Newswire, 10/24/08)

Mississippi forges ties to Japan NASA

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:54:00 +0000

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. - A delegation of Mississippi's space industry recently traveled to Tokyo to meet with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency following the delegation's participation in the 2008 Japan International Aerospace Exhibition in Yokohama. Craig Harvey, COO of NVision Solutions Inc., John Henry Jackson of the Mississippi Development Authority and Mark Lanoue, CEO of Emerging Technologies LLC, discussed Mississippi's role in global space technology markets with JAXA officials. Mississippi is home to Stennis Space Center and has interests in geospatial technologies and propulsion systems. (Source: NVision Solutions, 10/20/08)

Sensors, mini robots focus of meeting

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:50:00 +0000

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. - Navigation systems for miniature autonomous systems will be the topic of a workshop Monday through Wednesday at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort. "Challenges for Miniature Autonomous Systems" is sponsored by Eglin Air Force Base's Air Force Research Lab/Munitions Directorate. Trends show future autonomous systems will be less than 20 pounds, air-launched from small UAVs and used in greater numbers than current systems. Technical challenges include navigation, sensors and payloads. The workshop is for the DoD technical and user community, academia and industry. (Source: The Institute of Navigation)

Geospatial segment continues growth

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:44:00 +0000

OXFORD, Miss. - An economic impact report for Mississippi's geospatial technology cluster shows the sector grew between 2007 and 2008 despite the economic downturn. The Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions said that during the past year, 742 people were employed by EIGS member companies, a growth of 8 percent over the previous year. Total payroll for the cluster is almost $34 million, and revenues for the cluster grew by $25 million to $102.4 million. The average annual salary now stands at $56,200. EIGS is a group of private companies, university research programs, state agencies, and complementary partner programs working together to research, develop, and market new geospatial technology products from Mississippi. (Source: EIGS, 10/06/08)

Northrop's 3001 purchase nears

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Northrop Grumman expects to close this quarter on a deal to purchase geospatial company 3001 International, which will become part of Northrop’s information technology sector. Northrop Grumman said in early September that the two companies signed a definitive agreement on the acquisition. 3001 has operations in South Louisiana and Stennis Space Center. (Source: Tcp, 100108)