‘Space Fence’ Could Have a Local Base

Raytheon is bidding to build a ‘Space Fence’ to track orbital debris, a project around which Hanscom Air Force Base, MIT Lincoln Labs and Mitre Corp. are all expected to be involved.

  First cyberspace and now outer space. Hanscom Air Force Base, by virtue of the surrounding intellectual capital and scientific industry, has long been a leader in cutting edge defense systems. Home to the Electronic Systems Center and a first line of defense against cyber warfare, Hanscom now has its sights set on the “final frontier.” According to the Globe, Hanscom is a “focal point” for bids to build a $3 billion “Space Fence” system for tracking orbital debris. The local ties to the first-of-its kind Space Fence don’t stop there. One of the companies competing for to build the system is Waltham-based Raytheon, and engineers at MIT Lincoln Labs in Lexington and Mitre Corp in Bedford will assist Air Force officials in selecting the …

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Lt. Gov Murray to Tour Hanscom This Afternoon

Lt. Gov Timothy Murrary will visit Hanscom AFB today, Oct. 2, for a tour of the final phases of construction of the new Massachusetts National Guard Headquarters.

Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray will be in Bedford Tuesday, Oct. 2, for a tour of the new Massachusetts National Guard Headquarters at Hanscom Air Force Base. Following the tour, Murray will offer comments on the efforts of the Commonwealth’s Military Asset and Security Task Force. The task force was announced by Murray in February to protect and promote the state's military bases in the face of a $500 billion cut in federal defense spending by the U.S. Department of Defense. Murray and other officials last toured Hanscom back in March, the second stop on a tour of the state's bases. The visit also included a roundtable discussion at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, a defense company located near the base in Lexington. Reduced funding for Hanscom could …

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MIT Lincoln Labs Plans to Expand at Hanscom

The Globe reports that MIT seeks to invest $450 million in a 10-year plan to expand Lincoln Lab at Hanscom when the base is at risk of possible closure as part of cost-saving measures.

Technological Landscapes

Technological Landscapes: Dreams of an Optical Computer

For more than 50 years there has been a technological search to replace current computers with a faster, lower cost and more densely-packaged optical computer.

  The technological landscape consists of both ascendant and broken dreams. One such dream is that of higher density, lowest cost, fastest-ever optical computers manufactured with all-silicon components. So, when Professor Lorenzo Pavesi’s nanosilicon photonics team at the University of Trento, Italy coupled the optical emission from a tiny dot of silicon to a silicon waveguide, they emblazoned a trail in the landscape that moved the breakthrough computer dream one step closer to reality. Due to Pavesi’s multiple contributions to nanosilicon photonics he was welcomed as a guest lecturer by the Boston Chapter of the IEEE Photonic Society to summarize his latest achievements. The lecture was held in the cafeteria of MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory …

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Jay J. Schlickman

10:40 am on Monday, April 16, 2012

Gary, I just picked up your comment. It is most appreciated. The technological achievements in Lexington-based organizations is mind-blowing. I am on a learning spree. Jay   more ›

Tools and Tubes Swiped from Work Site

Police are investigating the reported theft of expensive tools and copper from a job site on Forbes Road.

Lexington Police are investigating the alleged theft of high-end tools and copper from a construction site for MIT Lincoln Labs. According to a police report, a call came in shortly before 8 a.m. Monday, Sept. 12 reporting a breaking-and-entering to tool storage containers on Forbes Road, which is located off Route 2A. Seven of the eight companies on the site reported they were missing expensive tools and it appears the alleged thieves were targeting copper, as well, police said. According to the police report, on-scene surveillance indicates the theft occurred between 2 and 4 a.m. on Sept. 12, but it’s no additional about the suspects or how they committed the alleged crime was available as of Friday, Sept. 16. The collective worth of …

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