The Orbital Technologies Corporation (ORBITEC) has recently won two major support efforts with NASA in areas of propulsion and life support. ORBITEC led and primed a team of small businesses that won the opportunity to provide development support in propulsion systems (RTAPS) for the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland Ohio. ORBITEC’s entire team Briefed NASA with the vast capabilities it can bring to the space propulsion technology needs of NASA.  A series of priority development needs will be presented to be sourced to ORBITEC’s team and 4 other large company teams over the next 5 years totaling $50M.  ORBITEC has integrated a talented and experienced team of small businesses, universities, and a smaller group of large businesses, located in 12 states.

ORBITEC also just won, as part of the Wyle Laboratories team, another development support contract with NASA Johnson Space in Houston Texas called Crew, Robotics, Avionics, and Vehicle Equipment (CRAVE).  ORBITEC’s primary role is to provide solutions in the area of life support systems and crew related technologies including it interactive 3D information systems capabilities. Wyle is one of three companies receiving an award which, cumulatively, is expecte...Read More

Aviation entrepreneurs and potential investors have a new place to be during one day of their visit to the Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA’s) annual AirVenture in Oshkosh, and it’s called AeroInnovate. AeroInnovate 2010 takes place on the second day of AirVenture on July 27, 2010 in EAA’s AirVenture Museum.

AirVenture, attended by 550,000 aerospace enthusiasts last year provided a perfect backdrop to the inaugural AeroInnovate 2009 attracting a highly select group of investors, industry leaders and entrepreneurs to network and learn. “AeroInnovate was created specifically for entrepreneurs and investors in the aviation and aerospace community,” AeroInnovate co-director Meridith Jaeger said. “We want it to be a platform for upcoming technologies and what’s going on in aviation and aerospace technology and we wa...Read More

The Transition, the aircraft that converts into an auto, received an exemption from the US Federal Aviation Authority, and can now go into production as a certified light sport aircraft, despite being 110 lbs over the Authority’s maximum weight of 1,320 pounds for LSAs.

Dr. Carl Dietrich, CEO/CTO of Woburn, Mass.-based start-up Terrafugia, designed the craft to meet both the FAA’s criteria for light sport aircraft and the safety features required by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. He found the FMVSS were more challenging to achieve and resulted in added weight for a roll cage, crumple zones and airbags — standard on cars but not on planes.

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