Mark Johnson, co-founder and managing partner at private equity firm Astra Capital Management, has joined the board of directors of Science Applications International Corp. The 22-year investment veteran will be a member of the audit committee and his appointment brings the number of the company’s board members to nine, SAIC said Monday. Edward Sandersonm, SAIC chairman, said Johnson will provide leadership and […] More

The U.S. Navy has assumed full operational control of the fifth Lockheed Martin-built Mobile User Objective System satellite. Lockheed said Thursday the Naval Satellite Operations Center took control of MUOS-5 on Oct. 11 following the satellite’s on-orbit test and the delivery of equipment needed for satellite operations. The MUOS constellation of five satellites is designed to deliver ultra-high frequency satellite […] More

“[We] are well-positioned to create a disruptive force in space-based intelligence. No company has such strong roots in geospatial with our level of scale and a strong commercial mindset.”  EM: It has been almost three weeks since the MDA acquisition of DigitalGlobe and the dust has hardly settled. But how has it been going with […] More

Falls Church, Virginia-based nonprofit healthcare provider Inova Health System has launched an investment unit and an accelerator program in a push to optimize care quality at the organization and in the region. Inova Strategic Investments will invest in healthcare venture funds and in companies that align with Inova’s strategic priorities such as advanced analytics, clinical practice innovations and information technology […] More

BAE Systems will invest $508 million to revive an industry-led effort to establish regulations and technology for the integration of unmanned air vehicles into the U.K. national airspace, FlightGlobal reported Tuesday. Beth Stevenson writes the U.K. government’s business department previously funded the Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation and Assessment program before it cancelled the effort to […] More

Inovio Pharmaceuticals has begun to enroll 125 individuals for the second stage of the Phase 1 clinical trial of its Ebola DNA vaccine candidate in an effort to evaluate how the vaccine generates immune responses. Inovio tested the INO-4212 vaccine in 75 healthy volunteers during the first clinical trial’s initial stage and found that 100 percent […] More

Modern Technology Solutions Inc. has obtained the Federal Aviation Administration’s approval to operate commercial unmanned aerial systems in U.S. civilian airspace. The authorization permits MTSI’s C-ASTRAL Bramor rTK drone to fly up to 200 feet over land and throughout the U.S., MTSI said Monday. Bramor is designed to perform mapping and surveying operations for a maximum […] More

Lisa Davis, formerly corporate affairs vice president of AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals‘ MedImmune biologics arm, will join Northrop Grumman as VP of communications for its electronic systems business on June 18. Davis will be part of Northrop’s communications council and electronic systems management team and oversee the planning and implementation of communication strategies, the company said Thursday. “Lisa brings extensive leadership experience […] More

An Orbital Sciences cargo spacecraft launched from NASA‘s Wallop’s Flight Facility in Virginia Thursday to carry supplies to the International Space Station. An Antares rocket lifted off from Wallops and will transport 2,780 pounds of load including science experiments, crew supplies and spare parts to the ISS, NASA said Thursday. The mission is Orbital’s first contracted cargo delivery […] More