Aerojet Rocketdyne Opens State-of-the-Art Rocket Propulsion Facility in Huntsville

Senior Alabama officials joined Aerojet Rocketdyne's CEO Eileen Drake and Executive Chairman Warren Lichtenstein at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the company's newest state-of-the-art rocket propulsion Advanced Manufacturing Facility (AMF), marking the latest milestone in the company's ongoing expansion in the Rocket City.

Surrounded by company employees and Alabama state and local officials, including Governor Kay Ivey, Drake officially declared the AMF open for operation. The 136,000-square-foot AMF will produce advanced propulsion products such as solid rocket motor cases and other hardware for the Standard Missile-3, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, and other U.S. defense and space programs.

"The AMF provides Aerojet Rocketdyne the capabilities we need to advance our nation's security today and to further technologies that will allow us to meet the challenges of tomorrow," said Drake.

In addition to current programs, which are being transferred from other locations, the AMF is designed for new program opportunities, including hypersonic and the U.S. Air Force's next-generation Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program.

"This is an exciting day for Aerojet Rocketdyne, the City of Huntsville and for the entire state of Alabama," Governor Kay Ivey said. "When a high-caliber company like Aerojet Rocketdyne locates a cutting-edge manufacturing facility in your state, it's a powerful testament to the skill of your workforce and to the advantages you can offer to business. We're thrilled to see this great company grow in Huntsville and make important contributions to the nation's defense."

The Huntsville expansion and AMF are part of Aerojet Rocketdyne's Competitive Improvement Program, which is aimed at reducing costs and increasing operational efficiency. Aerojet Rocketdyne officially established Huntsville as the headquarters of its Defense Business Unit in 2016. The company's local workforce, which numbered approximately 70 in 2017, is now up to more than 400, with additional growth planned as the AMF reaches full production rates.

Yesterday Drake formally cut the ribbon on the 122,000-square-foot Defense Headquarters building and hosted state and local officials at an open house reception. Here, the company is supporting important innovations for America's warfighters and explorers, from industry-leading hypersonics technology, to the advanced controller for the RS-25 engines that will power NASA's Space Launch System.

"We are grateful to Aerojet Rocketdyne for choosing Huntsville, this site and our highly skilled people, to produce some of the most advanced defense and space manufacturing technology in the world," said Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle. "We look forward to a long and prosperous future together as Aerojet Rocketdyne continues its leadership role in our nation's journey into space."

Drake cited key reasons for making Huntsville the center of its defense business, a highly technical workforce of engineers and scientists and the proximity of the company's key customers and government partners.

"Huntsville is a great place to build a future - and that's what we are doing with our expansion here," said Drake.

--SPACE STORY- eo SD 295 25-DEC-49 Deep Learning Model Speeds Up, Automates Satellite Image Analysis Deep Learning Model Speeds Up, Automates Satellite Image Analysis lockheed-martin-satellite-imagery-recognition-planes-automatically-identified-chicago-airport-hg.jpg lockheed-martin-satellite-imagery-recognition-planes-automatically-identified-chicago-airport-lg.jpg lockheed-martin-satellite-imagery-recognition-planes-automatically-identified-chicago-airport-bg.jpg lockheed-martin-satellite-imagery-recognition-planes-automatically-identified-chicago-airport-sm.jpg Large airplanes automatically identified at Chicago's O'Hare Airport Lockheed Martin
by Staff Writers Bethesda MD (SPX) Jun 10, 2019 Lockheed Martin develops satellite imagery recognition system using open-source deep learning libraries to quickly identify and classify objects or targets in large areas across the world, potentially saving image analysts countless hours manually categorizing and labeling items within an image.

Global Automated Target Recognition runs in the cloud, using Maxar's Geospatial Big Data platform (GBDX) to access Maxar's 100 petabyte satellite imagery library and millions of curated data labels across dozens of categories that expedite the training of deep learning algorithms. Fast GPU's let GATR scan a large area very quickly, while deep learning methods automate object recognition and reduce the need for extensive algorithm training.

GATR teaches itself what the identifying characteristics of an object area or target, for example, learning how to distinguish between a cargo plane and a military transport jet. The system scales quickly to scan large areas, including entire countries. GATR uses deep learning techniques common in the commercial sector and can identify ships, airplanes, buildings, seaports, and many other categories.

"There's more commercial satellite data than ever available today, and up until now, identifying objects has been a largely manual process," said Maria Demaree, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Space Mission Solutions. "Artificial Intelligence models like GATR keep analysts in control while letting them focus on higher-level tasks."

GATR has a high accuracy rate, well over 90% on the models we've tested so far. It only took two hours to search the entire state of Pennsylvania for fracking sites - that's 120,000 square kilometers

"I'm not an expert on what oil production sites are, and I don't have to be," said Mark Pritt, senior fellow at Lockheed Martin and principle investigator for GATR. "This system teaches itself the defining characteristics of an object, saving valuable time training an algorithm and ultimately letting an image analyst focus more on their mission."

GATR builds on research Pritt's team pioneered during a Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) challenge, called the "Functional Map of the World." The Lockheed Martin team was the only team from a company who placed in the top five.

Related Links
Aerojet Rocketdyne
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com

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