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While we are known for providing a comprehensive news summary post on Monday mornings, sometimes the news cycle is just too big and we like to occasionally do a “Tuesday News Round Up” post. This week, we have plenty of industry-related news including ManTech receiving a ‘non-conflict status’ with the NRO, the ESA ending a spending freeze and BAE System’s partnership with NOAA. So, as we always say on Monday, fire up that second cup of coffee and read on!

ManTech Gains Rare NRO ‘Non-Conflict Status’
ManTech International Corp. recently became one of only a handful of government contractors to receive certification from the National Reconnaissance Office as a “non-conflicted” services provider, according to a company announcement. The agency program negotiates Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) agreements with government contractors to ensure the integrity of their acquisition process, ManTech said. An NRO spokeswoman told Washington Technology that a check of agency files showed that in addition to ManTech, Computer Sciences Corp. subsidiary Welkin Associates Ltd., a Chantilly, Va., provider of management tools to the intelligence community, and Elantech Inc., a Greenbelt, Md., government contractor, also have received OCI certification from the agency. Read the full Washington Technology article here.

ESA Spending Freeze Ends with Deals for Sentinel Satellites, Ariane 5 Upgrade
The European Space Agency (ESA) has reopened its payment spigot after a three-week moratorium, signing well over 500 million euros ($720 million) in new contracts during the week ending Dec. 18. The major contracts include three Sentinel Earth observation satellites, preliminary development of work on a new upper stage for the Ariane 5 rocket and a winged space-plane demonstrator, according to ESA and European industry officials. The flurry of year-end activity followed an assessment by ESA’s finance directorate that the agency’s cash deficit, which had been estimated at up to 400 million euros by late 2010, is likely to be much less severe. ESA officials have concluded that they do not need to take out a loan to cover the shortfall and that if the agency faces liquidity issues this year, they can be handled as they arise by less drastic means. Read the full Space News article here.

BRAC Brings a New Home for NGA
Fort Belvoir is growing due to the Base Realignment and Closure process (BRAC). One of the new neighbors on campus will be the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, building a state-of-the-art workplace in Northern Virginia with the latest environmental standards. Check out this FedNewsRadio discussion with Tom Bukoski, Assistant Program Manager for Design and Construction of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s New Campus East here.

BAE Systems Partners with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on First Test Flight of Coyote Unmanned Aircraft System
BAE Systems, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has completed the first successful test flight of its small, electric-powered Coyote unmanned aircraft system. The system deployed in midair from a 3-foot-long sonobuoy dropped from a P-3 aircraft. The flight, which lasted 49 minutes, marks a significant milestone in the development of the Coyote for military uses and scientific research. “This is a major step forward for this innovative and one-of-a-kind system,” said John Wall, vice president of aviation programs for BAE Systems. Read the full press release here.

Nokia Fires Back at Google With Free GPS on 10 Phones
Nokia began giving away professional GPS navigation software on 10 of its smartphones on Thursday, matching a competitive move by Google. The move deals a blow to the leaders in the market for specialized navigation devices, Garmin and TomTom. GPS mapping software has been one of the most popular applications for mobile phones. Nokia’s decision to turn it into a giveaway may complicate its own efforts to generate revenue from mobile services and to recoup the $8.1 billion it spent in October 2007 to buy NavTeq, a maker of digital mapping data in Chicago. Read the full NY Times story here.

OpenGeo Suite Enterprise Edition 1.0 Released with Free 30 Day Trial
OpenGeo announces the release of the OpenGeo Suite Enterprise Edition, Version 1.0. With this new release, the OpenGeo Suite now offers a fully-integrated open source geospatial platform for serving maps and data through web applications, mobile devices, and desktop clients, available via one easy download. Simultaneously, OpenGeo is announcing an expanded set of support options as well as a full schedule of OpenGeo Suite software training courses for 2010. “Our aim is to make this open source web mapping platform fully integrated and even easier to access, while offering a full range of expert support packages to back it,” said Chris Holmes, President of OpenGeo. “For years experts have been using components including GeoServer, OpenLayers, PostGIS and others with great success. Now the OpenGeo Suite Enterprise Edition 1.0 seamlessly integrates each of these components, saving experts’ time and making open source web-based GIS a real option for newer users.” Read the full press release here.

Happy Tuesday!

Tags: BAE and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, BAE Systems, ESA, European Space Agency, GEOINT, geospatial intelligence, ManTech, ManTech NRO, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, NGA, NOAA, Nokia, Nokia GPS, OpenGeo, United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, USGIF, Washington Technology