Bill Holcomb is director of national ISR programs for MITRE in McLean, Va. Holcomb has been with MITRE for more than 25 years, working in his current position since 2001 when he moved from Bedford, Mass. In Bedford, Holcomb was the associate technical director for the space, intelligence and information operations division. This organization focused […] More

Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. has completed development of prototype launch vehicle flight computers that are equipped to bring safety and reliability to future human spaceflight systems, the company announced Monday. Ball Aerospace financed the computers and based them on deployed units now being used at NASA“™s Marshall Space Flight Center. The computers are used […] More

A Romanian hacker claims to have intruded a computer server at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and gained access to confidential satellite data, SecurityNewsDaily reports. The hacker, who goes by the name TinKode, last week boasted on Twitter about breaching the server. He also posted a screen shot on his blog, seemingly displaying a Goddard […] More

Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the first U.S. manned spaceflight. When Alan Shepard roared into orbit aboard Freedom 7, he did so with IBM sitting beside him. “Alan Shepard was the bravest of the brave and his flight ushered in America’s space age,” said professor Arthur Cohen, an IBM mathematician. “The IBM team had […] More

On the heels of its 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program and the 50th anniversary of the first U.S. spaceflight, two of NASA“™s websites have been recognized by the Webby Awards, which honor excellence in technology and creativity. NASA“™s main website received its third-consecutive People“™s Voice Award for best government site. Its Global Climate […] More

Next week marks the launch of the 27th National Space Symposium. Space community leaders will gather to discuss the future of space in this post-shuttle era. Area space contractors vying for a role in the new NASA will showcase their stellar offerings. Boeing plans to highlight its commercial and military satellite operations as well as […] More

One would expect NASA to reach for the stars when dreaming. And reach they have. Earlier this month, NASA released its “wish list“ ranked by the National Research Council. While some pipedreams are never likely to see the light of day, others are challenges space contractors are sure to wave a magic wand over. Mars […] More

Iridium Communications Inc. announced this week Chief Executive Officer Matthew J. Desch will speak at the 2011 Stifel Nicolaus Technology, Communications & Internet Conference in San Francisco on Feb. 10. Stifel Nicolaus, a financial services company based in St. Louis, Mo., hosts a variety of client-centric conventions annually, matching investors with experts from the technology, […] More

Boeing’s unmanned space vehicle, the X-37B (also known by its prototype designation, OTV-1), launched in April. Its top-secret mission and undisclosed capabilities have engendered plentiful speculation from amateur astronomers, space-policy enthusiasts and arms-control activists alike. Recently, however, the spacecraft pulled off a new trick: a vanishing act. The robotic space plane, which looks like a […] More

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has successfully test fired its Falcon 9, clearing a milestone toward the inaugural flight of a privately developed spaceship to fly cargo, and possibly astronauts, into orbit, the company said. Saturday’s 3.5-second ‘static’ firing of the Falcon’s nine kerosene and liquid oxygen-burning motors took place on a refurbished oceanside launch pad […] More

Everything from your cell phones, televisions, missileguidance systems and war fighter situational awareness systems depend on satellite-based networks.  So why is America“™s presence in space in jeopardy? According to Norm Augustine“™s Augustine Commission report, if NASA“™s current program and budgetary constraints are followed, the space shuttle will be phased out in 2011. The International Space […] More

After just seven more missions to the International Space Station (ISS), the Space Shuttle will retire without a replacement.  Ex-Lockheed Martin CEO Norm Augustine, chair of the United States Human Space Flight Plans Committee review, has published his committee’s findings, and NASA’s budgetary future looks bleak. Augustine told PBS “the human space flight program really isn’t executable with […] More