SpaceRef Business Monday Brief
Welcome to the SpaceRef Business Monday Brief, a short business update on some noteworthy news items of the past few days.
We start the brief with early morning news from ViaSat:
ViaSat Awarded $34 Million Contract to Develop MIDS Cryptographic Module
The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), on behalf of the Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) Program Office (MPO) (JPEOJTRS10), has awarded a $34 million dollar firm fixed price contract to ViaSat Inc. (Nasdaq: VSAT) for the design, development, and production of a cryptographic module (LCM) for the MIDS Low Volume Terminal (MIDS-LVT) Block Upgrade 2.
While Virgin Galactic is sorting out its problems with the state of New Mexico, it appears plans are moving full speed ahead for a spaceport in Abu Dhabi.
Virgin Galactic gives boost to Abu Dhabi spaceport plan
Virgin Galactic plans to make its inaugural commercial space flight some time this year, providing a massive boost to plans to locate a 21st-century spaceport in Abu Dhabi.
Over at the Washington Post, the Capital Buzz is reporting that Lockheed Martin makes changes to its compensation plan.
Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin has amended its incentive compensation plan so that the company’s overall success or failure plays a larger role in how employees fare, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week.
On Friday ATK announced a quarterly dividend:
ATK Board of Directors Declares Quarterly Dividend
ATK today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.26 per share. The dividend will be payable March 28, 2013, to stockholders of record as of March 5, 2013.
ATK is expected to release its third quarter fiscal 2013 financial results before the market opens on February 5, 2013.
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) will participate in the Cowen and Company 34th Annual Aerospace and Defense Conference on Thursday, Feb. 7. Jim Palmer, corporate vice president and chief financial officer, will present beginning at 9:40 a.m. Eastern time. The presentation will be webcast live at www.northropgrumman.com.
Last Thursday DigitalGlobe announced it had completed its merger with GeoEye.
DigitalGlobe and GeoEye Complete Combination
DigitalGlobe, Inc. (“DigitalGlobe”) and GeoEye, Inc. (“GeoEye”), today announced the completion of their combination, creating a global leader in earth imagery and geospatial analysis. The combined company will trade on the NYSE stock exchange as DigitalGlobe under the symbol DGI. Based on the closing price of DigitalGlobe stock on January 30, 2013, the combined company has a market capitalization of $2.1 billion.
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