Lockheed Martin is making steady progress in a key test phase on GeoEye’s next-generation, high-resolution imaging satellite, GeoEye-2, as IKONOS, the world’s first commercial remote sensing spacecraft marks 13 years of outstanding services for GeoEye’s customers around the globe. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company is developing GeoEye-2 under a fixed-price contract with GeoEye. The satellite…

The French and German governments must reduce their stakes in defense company EADS NV for the United Kingdom to allow a proposed merger with BAE Systems PLC to go ahead, Britain’s defense secretary warned Oct. 7. Philip Hammond said Britain would veto the mega-merger of the aeronautics and defense companies if this requirement wasn’t satisfied….

With a continuing focus on lean and efficient operations, Lockheed Martin Corporation Oct. 8 announced it will reorganize its Electronic Systems business area into two new business areas that position the company for growth by increasing customer alignment and reducing costs. Effective Dec. 31, the creation of the Missiles and Fire Control and Mission Systems…

A Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Falcon 9 rocket carrying its Dragon spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 8:35 p.m., EDT, Oct. 7, beginning NASA’s first contracted cargo delivery flight, designated SpaceX CRS-1, to the International Space Station. Under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract, SpaceX will fly at least 12…

Aeronautics engineer Richard T. Whitcomb, whose legendary NASA research contributions made supersonic flight practical, will joined other aerospace pioneers in the National Aviation Hall of Fame Oct. 6. The National Aviation Hall of Fame, located at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, is dedicated to honoring individuals who have…

NASA and its international partners have announced an agreement to send two crew members to the International Space Station on a one-year mission designed to collect valuable scientific data needed to send humans to new destinations in the solar system. The crew members, one American astronaut and one Russian cosmonaut, will launch and land in…

The U.S. Army has awarded Boeing a five-year Performance-Based Logistics contract for CH-47 Chinook support, an arrangement that reduces customer costs while allowing Boeing to invest in improving products and processes. The $185 million contract covers management of the production, overhaul and distribution of the Army’s supply of Chinook helicopter rotor blades. “PBLs are outcome-focused…

Honeywell announced Oct. 8 that its second-generation Spectra ShieldÆ ballistic material is being used to armor Foxhound vehicles, manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems Force Protection Europe, for the British Armed Forces. The vehicles are currently being shipped for use in Afghanistan. The Spectra Shield materials are more than 50 percent lighter than traditional vehicle…

A General Dynamics C4 Systems-led team received a contract from the U.S. Marine Corps to build up to four Engineering Development Models and nine Limited Deployment Units of the Processing and Display/Sensor Data Subsystem for Increment 1, Phase 2 of the Common Aviation Command and Control System. When built and fully operational, the General Dynamics…