KickStart … Got Your Back
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Above the Fold
• Boeing's future may be in Mom's hands
• Small biz is much more popular than big biz / politicians
• Elon is setting up a Hyperloop test track in his back yard
• Which way do you lean on sitting?
Local
HudsonAlpha has $1.3 billion impact on Alabama since opening - HudsonAlpha was founded in 2005 as a nonprofit corporation by Huntsville innovators Jim Hudson and Lonnie McMillian to do genetic research, develop biotechnology companies, and educate Alabama students and teachers about genomics.
Huntsville Chamber narrows list of proposals for CRP - Lucia Cape, vice president for economic development at the Chamber, said a review team has chosen four proposals for further consideration. Although the Chamber originally reported it would make a selection by June 12, it may be a while before a firm is announced.
4 reasons why Paris Air Show is crucial to Alabama's economy - aerospace is big, we need the money, we're pushin' UAVs too
Airbus ships first major aircraft components to Alabama factory - large components for the first Alabama-produced aircraft departed today from the port in Hamburg, Germany, bound for Mobile
Dream Chaser study a 'major step forward' for Sierra Nevada ... - don't expect any direct jobs from a Dream Chaser landing feasibility study
Alabama man illegally sold 1,340 grenade fuses to one person w/Photo - owner of a Hayden explosive materials training company pleaded guilty
Learn about mission to Mars and more at 'NASA on the Square': guest opinion - The journey to Mars is underway at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, where engineers and scientists are developing knowledge and capabilities to reach farther from Earth than ever before.
Veteran's off-the-grid trailer condemned by Huntsville - "Until they can prove that the sun is not going to come up tomorrow and give me light, I would say their argument is foolish.
Companies, Contracts & Characters
Northrop Grumman appoints new VP, corporate supply chain - has appointed Jaime Bohnke vice president, corporate supply chain.
--- Business Strategy
Small business second only to military in public confidence; guess who ranks last - Americans have almost as much confidence in small business as they do the military. …not so much for newspapers or big business.
Job Search
It's a Fantastic Time to Graduate in the US as an Engineer or Computer Scientist - More than 55% of the class is currently employed full time, and the average starting salary is $48,190
Aviation
As aviation leaders mingle in Paris for the industry’s largest expo, much of the talk centers on a Boeing Co. plane nicknamed “Mom” - The tag is an acronym used internally at Boeing for “middle of market,” a jet that would be sized to fit between current single- and twin-aisle offerings and succeed the discontinued 757.
Lockheed Hands Off Hybrid Airship To Commercial Reseller - , the announcement seemed to mark a new phase in the company’s approach to what has been a perennially promising approach to moving large cargo over long distances.
Pratt & Whitney: F-35 Fleet Will Have Engine Fix by Early 2016 - “Although we weren’t at Farnborough, we returned to flight within three weeks.
Bombardier Joins Lockheed, Raytheon For JSTARS Recap Team - This means Northrop and Lockheed are going head to head on both the B-3 bomber program and the JSTARS recap. Northrop built the B-2 bomber and JSTARS.
Business Jets as Alternative for the E-8C JSTARS - LMCO is leading an industry team that includes Raytheon and Bombardier, addressing the U.S. Air Force requirement to recapitalize and modernize the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS), currently operating on obsolete Boeing 707-300 based platforms
Paris Air Show 2015: Lockheed Martin unveils new heavy-lift hybrid airship - 20-tonne-capacity hybrid airship to the international heavy-haulage market
UTC plans Sikorsky helicopter business sale or spin-off - It also warned it expected the division’s profits to fall this year, with results worse than it previously expected because of the decline in offshore oil exploration.
$5B
And 700 High Tech Jobs: Reasons Why F-35 Has Friends - years behind
schedule, billions over budget and won’t be able to deliver all its weapons for
years.
Ah, grasshopper, but there are other reasons
Boeing Looks to Sell Retired A-10 Warthogs Abroad - Boeing Co. doesn’t want the planes to waste away in the Arizona bone yard – it wants to sell them abroad.
United Technologies Plans to Shed Sikorsky Helicopter Unit - United Technologies clips profit forecast amid a slowdown in its Sikorsky helicopter business
US nuclear bombers lack satellite terminals for emergencies - US satellite terminals to ensure communications with nuclear bombers do not yet exist and have been delayed indefinitely.
--- UAV
Certifiable Predator B (CPB) – Redesigned for the European Taste - General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA ASI), the drone’s manufacturer is developing a variant of the Predator B Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) to be certified for flight according to the NATO Airworthiness Standard for unmanned aircraft.
Four US Surveillance Drones to Be Deployed to Japan - The drones will be redeployed from the US military base in Guam in the Pacific Ocean to Japan this summer.
Schiebel’s Camcopter Sharpens its Eyes and Ears - continues to expand the sensor suits carried on its Camcopter S-100
DIY Drones Are Coming: Assemble in 30 Minutes, Use it for Almost Anything You Can Imagine - if you want a drone that can hear, smell, or play laser tag, you’ll have to build one yourself
Beltway/WallStreet
Boeing To Pentagon: Be Careful When You Pause IRAD Programs - a warning note today that the US military had better keep its commitments if it wants companies to invest their own money in new technologies.
OPM chief berated at hearing; chairman calls for her head w/Photo - all the punches going in one direction — Katherine Archuleta getting hit from the right and the left.
House committee chairman: Spin off air traffic control - The chairman of the House transportation committee said Monday he’ll introduce a bill that takes control of air traffic operations away from the government and places it under the control of a non-profit corporation run by airlines and other segments of the aviation industry.
Donald Trump Is Running For President, And Nothing Makes Sense Anymore - a 45 minute long steam of consciousness that will likely go down in history as the most bizarre Presidential announcement in American history
International
China has taken up Russia's deepest fear - China has been systematically shutting out Western ideals from research centers, school curriculums, and higher learning for some time now, but it is rare to see these thoughts broadcast by a government mouthpiece
Five Million Reasons China May Be Drawn Into Foreign Conflicts - With five million citizens to protect and billions of investment dollars at stake, China is rethinking its policy of keeping out of other countries’ affairs.
North Korea could collapse within a decade, says analyst - "North Korean madness may well be nearing its endgame."
Is ‘Whack-A-Mole’ Working Against al Qaeda? - The terror group’s No. 2 was killed in Yemen, reportedly by a U.S. strike. But are such killings bringing the U.S. any closer to “degrading and ultimately defeating” terrorism?
Federal CTO: How Can We Be More like Estonia? - America is still the strongest military power in the world and perhaps the most powerful beacon of democracy, but when it comes to digital prowess in government, the mantle undoubtedly belongs to Estonia.
Defense
--- Defense Executives
MG Alan Lynn to take over as DISA director - As LTG Ronnie Hawkins prepares to step down as director of the Defense Information Systems Agency, a familiar successor will step into the role
SecAF James: Russia Is ‘Biggest Threat'; F-22s May Come Soon - She mentioned the two B-2 stealth bombers now at Fairford Air Base in the U.K., as well as older B-52s. She also pointed to a U-2 spyplane operating from Akoritir, Cyprus: Until a few years ago the fact of those flights were top secret.
STRATCOM Must Be Warfighters, Not FAA In Space: Lt. Gen. Kowalski - “How do we envision the Joint Space Operations Center in the future if we’re going to be in an environment where we [must] assume space is under threat?”
--- Defense Budget
FBI Said Federal Budget Cuts Under Sequestration Were Equivalent Of Shutting Down Chicago, Miami, and Baltimore Field Offices - To absorb the personnel funding reductions under Sequestration, the FBI has implemented a hiring freeze that will result in over 2,200 vacant positions by the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2013
Air Force Civilians Receive Buyout, Early Retirement Incentives - service called the decision necessary to meet required 20 percent cuts to headquarters offices
--- Ground Pounder
Why the Marines have failed to adopt a new sniper rifle in the past 14 years - snipers say that the Marine Corps’ weapons procurement process is part of an entrenched bureaucracy resistant to change.
Green Berets’ efforts to take down Islamic State undermined by shoddy intelligence - when U.S. forces exited Iraqin December 2011, “all theater-level enterprise databases were terminated.”
Vietnam veteran becomes newest Huntsville graduate - Cole left school in 1968 to join the Marine Corps.
--- Homeland Defense
Omar Gonzalez, White House fence jumper, sentenced to 17 months in prison - Army veteran who ran through theWhite House with with a knife last year
--- Missile Defense
Ballistic missile defense radar may be used by allies in forward-based mode - U.S. government has authorized a number of U.S. allies and security partners to potentially procure via Foreign Military Sales the AN/TPY-2 ballistic missile defense radar -- made by Raytheon -- for use in forward-based mode.
US Navy uses SM-6 to intercept medium-range supersonic target ... - from 'over-the-horizon'
China Successfully Tests Hypersonic Nuclear Missile Wu-14 - China has confirmed that it has successfully tested its hypersonic nuclear-capable missile Wu-14. It was the missile's fourth successful testing in less than 18 months.
Russia to add 40 new intercontinental missiles this year ... - a blunt reminder of the nation’s nuclear might amid tensions with the West over Ukraine
Javelin Missile Demonstrates Extended Range and Versatility ... - Each of the three Javelin missiles used during the tests at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, was fired from a different launcher or platform
--- Defense Tech
DISA rolls out new 5-year strategy - Defense Information Systems Agency has released its 2015-2020 strategic plan, laying out core agency missions and objectives in getting IT services to Defense Department users.
Largest cyber attack in history? Huckabee claims it's OPM, but it's probably not w/Photo - Huckabee wants an eye for an eye and a hack for a hack.
Marines test Boeing's portable laser w/Photo - to identify, track and disable aerial drones or ground targets.
--- Unmanned Vehicles / Robotics
NASA Awards $100,000 to Winning Team of Robot Challenge - to the Mountaineers, a team from West Virginia University, Morgantown, for successfully completing Level 2 of the Sample Return Robot Challenge
--- Special Weapons
China builds nuclear arsenal as other countries disarm - added 10 warheads to its nuclear programme in 2014, bringing its total to an estimated 260 weapons
Dont Take an Iran Bomb Deal for Granted - For Iran, the strategy seems to be any subterfuge for a centrifuge
Russia cites 'threats' as nuclear arsenal boosted - declaration from the Kremlin strongman came as Russia reacted with fury to reports the US is planning to bulk up its military deployments in eastern Europe
Aerospace
---NASA
NASA, German Aerospace Center Partner for Research into Advanced Aircraft - signed agreements to work together to reduce aircraft noise and advance research into rotorcraft
Photo Competition Highlights Why Space Matters on Earth - NASA and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) have launched a global photography competition to highlight how the vantage point of space helps us better understand our home planet, improve lives, and safeguard our future
NASA data shows global groundwater depletion - Water is drawn faster than replenished in most of world's largest aquifers
---Space Biz
Arianespace restructure signals major changes in company ... - Airbus Safran Launchers, which already has a 39% stake, is expected to hold 74% of Arianespace's share capital
Airbus is making internet-beaming satellites, just like SpaceX - The satellites could launch as early as 2018, forming OneWeb’s constellation that will provide LTE, 3G, and Wi-Fi to rural communities across the globe.
Exclusive: Russia, U.S. competing for space partnership with Brazil - plan to launch commercial satellites from its base near the equator, opening up a new theater in their rivalry for allies and influence
China's space program could completely crush its competition - NASA isn't in serious trouble, but it has flat-lined.
--- Mars Exploration
Methane Found in Mars Meteorites - researchers examined samples from six meteorites of volcanic rock that originated on Mars
--- Space Craft
Griffin: Space Launch System holds future of U.S. space policy - "we find ourselves in a world where the benefits of space permeate almost every facet of our lives."
Cyber
Contractors Want Guidance from Feds on OPM Hack - federal contractors are waiting for agencies to explain exactly what the OPM data breach affecting 4 million employees means for them.
OPM Breach Just Put America's Spies 'At High Risk' - Hackers may now have detailed biographical information and a virtual phonebook of every United States intelligence asset
Top 100: Raytheon doubles down on cybersecurity - its defense portfolio aligned well with those areas into which the Defense Department funneled its lean resources, such as missile defense, cybersecurity, electronic warfare and C4ISR.
Hack Brief: The Cardinals May Have Hacked the Astros - Dirty tricks are nothing new—and neither is digital espionage—but for the first time the two have come together to rock Major League Baseball.
What does FBI probe into Cardinals' cyber activity mean for Cubs? - It would be a first in professional sports, a targeted team-on-team hacking of proprietary information
Education
Mapping Where America Is Failing Its Youth - more than one in eight of the nation’s young people are neither employed nor in school.
Transportation
SpaceX announces design competition for Hyperloop - plans to build a 1-mile test track next to its headquarters in the Los Angeles suburb of Hawthorne and will hold a competition there next year
Miscellaneous
To Be Clear, Velociraptors Would Make Terrible Weapons - ‘Jurassic World’ wants to deploy dinosaurs to Afghanistan
LeanChair makes a stand against sitting (or standing) - The rap-sheet for sitting is worth recounting. As well as being bad for your muscles, neck, back and circulation, it also increases the chances of cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
'Like a Rolling Stone' was recorded 50 years ago today.. - How does it feel
QA: What are trans fats and why are they unhealthy? - Washington ... - They can contribute to heart disease and are considered even less healthy than saturated fats, which can also contribute to heart problems.
Networking
6/18 1600: MRC All-Hands (1600) - Bldg. 3494A, Rm. 144
6/18 1800: HATS Person of the Year Banquet – Westin
6/20 1800: MOAA Summer Party – The Summit – Carrie Hightower 882-3992
6/20 1900: AUSA AL Hammers Military Night – VBC
6/21 Armed Forces Celebration Week begins
6/21 Father's Day
6/21 Summer Begins
6/21 The U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation's GEOINT 2015 conference - DC
6/22 2015 Army Contracting Summit - Killeen, Texas
6/22 AIAA Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and Exposition - Dallas, Texas
6/23 Army Soldier Show – VBC
6/23 Global Space Innovation Conference (GLIC 2015) - Munich, DE
6/24 Future Armoured Vehicles Eastern Europe Forum - Prague, , Czech Republic
6/28 Gordon Research Conference on Origins of Solar Systems
7/02 Quad-A 4th of July Social
7/04 Independence Day - Federal Holiday
So, if you’ve got the time and inclination, drop me a line and let me know what you are thinking about.
If you’ve got time to sit down for a cup of coffee, I’m usually out and making rounds the afternoons of Tues, Thurs, and Friday
[256 612 7814 © ]..
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Hugh Stanley
(c) 256 612 7814
KickStart Group
Twitter: http://twitter.com/HSVKickStart