Nextant Aerospace announced today that all requirements have been completed for issuance of an STC for the Beechjet 400A/XP Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4 to Pro Line 21 Flight Deck Upgrade.

The Pro Line 21 upgrade program combines one of the most popular avionics suites available with one of the most popular light/medium business jets. “We are excited to have completed the requirements for this STC. Not only does it mark the first certification of Pro Line 21 in a Beechjet it also concludes an important milestone in the development of the 400NEXT aircraft. Pilots and owners like the increased safety and reliability this upgrade brings to the Beechjet 400A/XP in addition to the decreased maintenance and weight.” said Mark O’Donnell, VP of Manufacturing for Nextant Aerospace.

Base price for the Beechjet 400A/XP Pro Line 21 upgrade, consisting of three displays, is $390,000. Additional options are available for four displays, IFIS (Integrated Flight Information System) and XM Satellite NEXRAD Radar. Orders placed before the end of year can include the fourth display at 50% off.

The Pro Line 21 avionics upgrade is key element of the complete 400NEXT program. The Nextant 400NEXT is designed to overcome significant limitations to the popular Hawker Beechcraft 400XP/400A by replacing the existing Pratt & Whitney JT15D engines with the new modern Williams International FJ44-3AP computer controlled engines along with the new Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics. The range of the 400NEXT will be increased from 1333 nautical miles to over 2000 (4 passenger, NBAA IFR range) with a 30% reduction in operating costs based on fuel savings alone. The 400NEXT will be offered as a remanufactured serially produced aircraft as well as a modification retrofit program.

Universal Display announced that it has been awarded a $333,593 extension to a United States Army Communication Electronics Research and Development Engineering Center (CERDEC) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III contract. Under the extension, Universal Display will continue work on its flexible OLED display technology and will deliver prototype flexible displays built on metal foil to the U.S. Army.

Universal Display, working with partners LG Display and L-3 Display Systems, will focus on improving the design and performance of flexible active-matrix OLED (AMOLED) display prototypes built on metal foil substrates. This technology is currently being evaluated by the U.S. Department of Defense for military applications, including a wrist-mounted, light weight display for use by soldiers in the field. Work under the extension includes the design and fabrication of new prototypes using amorphous-silicon backplanes that are designed and built on metal foil substrates by LG Display. The new prototypes will also utilize a phosphorescent OLED frontplane designed and built by Universal Display.

The OLED display will be encased in a new and thinner housing, designed and fabricated by L-3 Display Systems. The new housing is less bulky and more rugged than earlier prototypes, which should improve wearability and portability of the device for prospective use by soldiers.

“The U.S. Army’s continued support in this area is essential for flexible OLED display technology to reach its full potential for military and commercial applications,” said Steven V. Abramson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Display. “The work under this program, through our longstanding collaborations with LG Display and L-3 Display Systems, will continue to demonstrate performance enhancements over previous prototypes, moving us closer to lighter, less bulky, commercial flexible OLED products for use by soldiers and consumers alike.”

SpaceX successfully conducted two static firings of the first stage, nine engine cluster for its Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The firings took place at SpaceX’s Texas Test Site, a 300-acre structural and propulsion testing facility just outside of Waco, Texas. With completion of these tests, the first stage has now passed both structural and propulsion acceptance testing and will ship to Cape Canaveral in preparation for the first flight of Falcon 9.

The first test fired for 10 seconds and occurred on October 12th at approximately 7:30 pm CDT. The second test began around 4:30 pm CDT on October 16th, and lasted 30 seconds.

The first stage of Falcon 9 uses a cluster of nine SpaceX-designed and developed Merlin engines. Using rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen, the cluster generates nearly a million pounds of thrust for the vehicle upon liftoff. The Merlin engine is one of the only liquid rocket engines designed in the United States in the last few decades, and is now among the highest performing gas generator cycle kerosene engines ever built, exceeding the Boeing Delta II main engine, the Lockheed Martin Atlas II main engine, and on par with the Saturn V F-1 engine.

The stage will ship to SpaceX’s launch site at Cape Canaveral next month to begin vehicle integration in preparation for first flight. The inaugural flight of Falcon 9 will be a demonstration flight and will launch a Dragon spacecraft qualification unit into orbit to provide SpaceX with valuable aerodynamic and performance information.

Black Box Network Services data infrastructure, and product solutions, announced today that it was awarded a $37.7 million contract to perform telecommunications and network management services at Miami International Airport and Dade County’s general aviation airports.  Black Box manages and runs the Network Operations Center (NOC) for the Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD). Services include traditional telephony, messaging, mobility, network infrastructure, data networking, wireless connectivity, digital signage, and network maintenance.

According to Marc Henderson, spokesman for the MDAD, the new five-year non-exclusive contract for Lawrence, PA based Black Box Network Services takes effect in February 2010 when the company’s current five-year contract extension expires. The new contract will include two additional one-year renewal options.

“We are honored by the selection of Black Box to provide a state-of-the-art, service delivery solution and continue our partnership with the Miami-Dade Aviation Department,” stated Mr. Anthony Hawks, senior vice-president for Black Box.

The Company’s original five-year contract began in January 2004 and was valued at $35.5 million. Two amendments to the contract were approved for an additional $11.1 million. The contract covered the establishment of the NOC and 24/7 Help Desk supporting the Miami International, Kendall-Tamiami Executive, Opa-Locka, and Homestead airports. Black Box now provides Tier 1 service at Miami International Airport and operates the 24/7 NOC with a staff of more than 50 on-site technicians and engineers. Black Box also dispatches on-site 24/7 2^nd and 3^rd Tier support. More complete information on Black Box’s MDAD services can be found in a recently published case study.

In February 2009, Black Box also achieved ISO/IEC 20000-1:2005 certification for its IT services at the Miami International Airport. Under Black Box’s IT management, the airport is the first in the United States to follow the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) of best practices. This marks the first time Black Box has received this certification.

Jazz Semiconductor announced their SERDES solution has been selected by NASA for its Lunar Atmosphere Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission. The LADEE mission will orbit the Moon with the main objective of characterizing the lunar dust environment to determine the global density, composition, and time variability of the fragile lunar atmosphere before it is perturbed by further human activity and will deliver optical data at a rate of above 500 Mb/s. The launch date for the mission is scheduled for May 1, 2012.

ADSANTEC specializes in ASICs in CMOS and SiGe BiCMOS technologies utilizing patented and patent pending radiation-hard by design (RHBD) techniques. The ADSANTEC Ultra High Speed (above 30 Gb/s) rad-hard SERDES product utilizes the commercially available SiGe BiCMOS process (SBC18) from Jazz along with its own patent pending RHBD systems. Jazz and ADSANTEC’s technology solution was chosen for the LADEE mission by MIT as well as for a next generation mission to Mars by JPL. ADSANTEC has developed and validated more than 30 high speed RHBD ASICs fabricated in Jazz’s SBC18 process technology, including an ultra high speed TIA and VCSEL driver. To accelerate rad-hard ASIC design, ADSANTEC has developed a library of rad-hard silicon verified cells, which are available from Jazz Semiconductor.

”We have routinely achieved first-pass success with Jazz’s industry-leading SiGe technology in delivering high speed ASICS with demanding specifications targeting both space and terrestrial applications,” said Dr. Vladimir Katzman, President of ADSANTEC. ”We are now excited to further broaden our partnership with Jazz by making our rad-hard and commercial grade design libraries available to other Jazz customers.” Currently, ADSANTEC supplies components fabricated in Jazz Semiconductor’s process technologies to several tier 1 communications customers worldwide.

“We are excited to be partnering with ADSANTEC on the lunar mission as well as helping to expand our support of the rad-hard community with the addition of RHBD techniques and IP to our commercial wafer fabrication processes,” said Dr. Marco Racanelli, Sr. VP and GM, RF & HPA, and Aerospace & Defense Business Groups. “This, together with a broad selection of 0.18um CMOS and SiGe technology options, our previously announced cryogenic device models and monthly direct-shuttle program, will help speed time-to-market for customers targeting new products at space and other high radiation environments.”

Protonex announced that the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), through a program sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), has documented a flight endurance record on their small, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Ion Tiger, utilizing a highly advanced fuel cell system from Protonex. The Ion Tiger UAV flew for over 23 hours, setting an unofficial endurance record for fuel cell powered flight, driven by the latest generation of Protonex’ UAV power system.

The 23+ hour duration of the Ion Tiger flight far surpasses the longest previous small UAV flight achieved using any technology. By incorporating the Protonex power system, the Ion Tiger was able to demonstrate seven times the endurance capability of advanced batteries. The Protonex UAV system that was used in the Ion Tiger demonstration is a high performance, ultralight proton exchange membrane [PEM] fuel cell system, coupling stack technology that can achieve 1,000 watts per kilogram with advanced balance of plant components.

With the successful completion of this major milestone, Protonex is planning to continue transitioning this advanced power source into small UAV products with specific payloads and mission requirements for both military and commercial applications. The endurance capabilities proven in this program were previously achievable only with larger scale, more costly UAVs. Protonex is now confident that new critical missions can be achieved by smaller, more cost-effective UAV platforms that incorporate its advanced power systems.

“This impressive 23-hour record flight milestone represents yet another successful collaboration with the NRL and is a culmination of all of our combined efforts to date,” stated Dr. Paul Osenar, Chief Technology Officer, Protonex. “We share the ONR’s vision towards bringing quiet electric propulsion and long endurance to today’s small UAVs and to extend the capability to the warfighter.”

Naval Air Station Fallon has implemented the RAPIDGate Program to increase security and streamline access for the thousands of vendors, suppliers, service providers and contractors who access the installation. The program includes company enrollment, employee registration, employment status validation, identity authentication, background screening, biometric verification, and entry authorization for vendor, supplier, service provider and contractor employees that are not authorized a Common Access Card (CAC).

Utilizing Eid Passport’s patented program, employees who register for the program and successfully pass the background screening receive streamlined access to Naval Air Station Fallon.

“We are pleased Naval Air Station Fallon has selected the RAPIDGate Program,” said Eid Passport CEO Steve Larson. “The RAPIDGate Program will aid in the mission to protect this premier integrated strike warfare training facility while streamlining processes and ensuring resource efficiency.”

LaBarge has been awarded a $1.8 million contract from Sikorsky to continue to produce electronic assemblies for various models of UH-60 BLACK HAWK helicopters.  LaBarge has supported the BLACK HAWK helicopter program since 2005.  The LaBarge-built electronic assemblies will support the inlet barrier filtration system, which extends the life of the BLACK HAWK engine. Production on the contract has begun at LaBarge’s Huntsville, Ark., facility and is expected to continue through July 2010.

LaBarge, Inc. is a broad-based provider of electronics to technology-driven companies in diverse markets. The Company provides its customers with sophisticated electronic and electromechanical products through contract design and manufacturing services. Headquartered in St. Louis, LaBarge has operations in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. The Company’s Web site may be accessed at http://www.labarge.com.

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., based in Stratford, Conn., is a world leader in helicopter design, manufacture, and service. United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Conn., provides a broad range of high-technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries.

SpaceX announced the successful completion of acceptance testing of both the Falcon 9 first and second stages in preparation for the first flight of Falcon 9. Acceptance testing took place at SpaceX’s Texas Test Site, a 300-acre structural and propulsion testing facility, located just outside of Waco, Texas.

This recent series of tests subjected both stages to a variety of structural load and proof pressure tests to verify acceptability for flight. Acceptance testing began in late summer with the first stage and concluded last week at SpaceX’s Texas facility with completion of acceptance testing for the second stage.

“The successful completion of these tests marks another key milestone in our preparation for Falcon 9’s first flight,” said Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX. “Our team will now move forward with a static fire of the first and second stages, the last major milestone before hardware is transferred to SpaceX’s launch pad at Cape Canaveral.”

The inaugural flight of Falcon 9 is a demonstration flight, and is expected to occur one to three months after Falcon 9 arrival at Cape Canaveral next month. The final launch date will depend on range scheduling, weather conditions and time required to make adjustments for any vehicle-to-ground equipment interactions. For its first flight, Falcon 9 will launch a Dragon spacecraft qualification unit into orbit to provide SpaceX with valuable aerodynamic and performance information.

The second flight of the Falcon 9/Dragon system is the first flight under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, a new commercial-government partnership under which SpaceX will demonstrate the ability to dock with the International Space Station, transfer cargo, and return cargo safely to Earth.

SpaceX has announced a second user conference for its commercial product DragonLab, a free-flying, reusable spacecraft capable of hosting pressurized and unpressurized payloads to and from orbit. The event will focus on the needs of European users and take place on October 29^th, 2009, in Haarlem, Netherlands.

DragonLab provides a platform for in-space experimentation, including recovery of pressurized and some unpressurized payloads, as well as deployment of small spacecraft. As a complete system, DragonLab provides a highly capable spacecraft platform that includes propulsion, power, thermal control, environmental control, avionics, communications, thermal protection, flight software, guidance, navigation and control, entry, descent and landing, and recovery.

The user conference is an opportunity for potential customers to explore DragonLab’s capabilities, as well as present customer-specific interests and requirements. The agenda includes an overview of the Dragon spacecraft, concept of operations, payload accommodations and cost parameters.

DragonLab is an alternate configuration of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which, along with the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, has been contracted by NASA to provide cargo resupply services to the International Space Station as early as 2010.

To express interest in attending the user conference, visit www.DragonLabUserConference.com.