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As our faithful got geoint? readers know, every so often we like to do mid-week news round up — especially when the news cycle is chock full of GEOINT-related stories that will change your life for the better. Well, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but these are some compelling stories about UAVs, Boeing’s Phantom Eye and much, much more. So, what’s a good catch phrase for a Wednesday news round up post? Ahh, we’ll just use an old favorite. Here we go: fire up that second cup of coffee and read on.

DOD Invests in Tomorrow’s UAV and Sensor Features
Dozens of universities are on the receiving end of $227 million over five years in research funding from the Defense Department and will use the money to bankroll exploration of high-tech capabilities, including for sensors and unmanned aerial vehicles. The Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) is responsible for the funding, which is the result of a highly competitive contest held by the Army Research Office, the Office of Naval Research and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Based on the proposals selected in the fiscal 2010 competition, a total of 67 academic institutions are expected to participate in the 32 research efforts. Read the full Defense Systems article here.

U.S. Air Force May Slow Planned GPS 3 Production Pace
The primary payload for the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation GPS 3 navigation satellites recently was cleared for production even as the service contemplates slowing down the program based on the health of the current GPS constellation. Current plans call for GPS 3 prime contractor Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Denver to deliver four satellites per year, with the first slated to launch in 2014, but the Air Force is currently re-evaluating the production rate, said Dave Podlesney, Lockheed Martin’s GPS 3 program director. The health of the existing constellation and launch rate of the current-generation GPS 2F craft — to date just one of 12 of the Boeing-built satellites has been launched — are factors, he said in a July 13 interview. Read the full Space News article here.

Comtech To Protest ViaSat Victory in Blue Force Tracking Competition
Satellite terminal and broadband service provider ViaSat Inc. upset incumbent Comtech Telecommunications Corp. July 21 to win a U.S. Army contract potentially worth $477 million for a satellite-based tracking system, but the losing bidder immediately announced plans to protest the award. The Army chose Carlsbad, Calif.-based ViaSat to provide the satellite terminals, network infrastructure and bandwidth for the Blue Force Tracking (BFT)-2 program, according to a company press release. ViaSat received $37.7 million under the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract’s first task order. Read the full Space News article here.

Boeing’s “Phantom Eye” Joins the Roster of Unmanned Spy Planes
The next generation of spies from on high continue to emerge, with two secretive unmanned planes making their public debuts this week. Engadget calls it a “bowling pin with wings.” I’d say it’s more like a flying maraca.
The Phantom Eye, which Boeing unveiled this week, will take to the skies next year on the power of hydrogen. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) should be able to cruise at an altitude of 65,000 feet. Read the full Discover Magazine blog post here.

UAV Conferences: UAV Caucus Technology Fair
he third Congressional UAV Caucus event for 2010 will be held on Wednesday September 22nd, 2010. The Caucus will host a UAV Technology Fair featuring displays from Industry, Government, Law Enforcement, and more. “This is a great opportunity for the American public to come and get a close look at an exciting, growing technology,” Congressman McKeon said. “After our roundtable discussion on integrating UAVs into the national airspace, I think it will really help Members and the public talk to the operators of these systems about the challenges they face. I’m looking forward to another really great event.” Read the full press release here.

HitachiSoft Selects TerraGo Technologies as Strategic Partner for Geospatial Collaboration Solutions
Hitachi Software Engineering Co. Ltd® (HitachiSoft), a leading global software and IT solutions provider, and TerraGo Technologies®, a leading provider of geospatial collaboration software solutions, have formed a strategic alliance and signed a Master Distributor Agreement under which HitachiSoft resells TerraGo software throughout Asia. Under the terms of the agreement, HitachiSoft now markets via its direct and indirect sales organizations TerraGo Publisher™, TerraGo Composer™, TerraGo Toolbar™, and TerraGo Mobile™ applications that create and interact with GeoPDF® maps and imagery. Under an additional agreement, HitachiSoft has made a strategic investment in TerraGo, and the two companies are jointly developing localized versions of TerraGo software for Asian customers, beginning with a Japanese language version. Read the full TerraGo press release here.

Meet Google’s Space Commander
Google, as you may know, runs a search engine and sells ads. How odd then that Tiffany Montague works at the company. Ms. Montague is the manager of Google’s space initiatives –- overseeing things like sending robots to the moon and ogling Mars. It’s not exactly the stuff that keeps the lights on at the Googleplex, but this type of work seems to make Sergey Brin and Larry Page happy. Unlike many Google employees, Ms. Montague is not an engineer by trade. Rather, she arrived at Google about five years ago, after serving as an officer for the Air Force and working at the National Reconnaissance Office. Ms. Montague’s specialty centered on flying high altitude aircraft and snooping on stuff. Read the full NY Times Bits blog post here.

Tags: Boeing Phantom Eye, Comtech, Department of Defense and UAVs, GEOINT, GEOINT 2010, geospatial intelligence, Phantom Eye, Space News, TerraGo, TerraGo and HitachiSoft, Tiffany Montague, Tiffany Montague and NRO, Tiffany Montague and Google, UAV, UAVs