Insei & ISL News

ISL Trains NASA Space Shuttle Personnel in the Application of Accident Precursor Analysis
February 2010

ISL conducted a two-day tutorial in Houston, TX on Feb 17 & 18 to train safety and mission assurance (S&MA) personnel in the application of accident precursor analysis (APA) in a bid to further improve Space Shuttle safety by garnering better insights from anomalies that occur during flight missions. The tutorial was attended by around 15 NASA civil servants and support contractors and included discussion of the fundamental methodologies, examples from pilot studies, team exercises that allowed participants to apply what they learned, and hands-on training using ISL's DAnGERS tool.

Quality Management System Registered to ISO 9001:2008
January 2010

On January 25, 2010, the Manufacturing Solutions Operation (MSO) and the System Engineering and Integration Operation (SEIO) of ISL were assessed by two Intertek ISO auditors to the requirements of ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 9001:2008. The audit was very successful and no issues were noted. The ISO auditors found that the current Quality "management system is in conformity with the audit criteria." As such, the the MSO and SEIO Operations will be given a new ISO Certificate of Registration stating that both operations have a "quality management system that is registered as conforming to the requirements of ISO 9001:2008."

ISL Provides Support to the Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLLV) Trade Study at NASA
January 2010

ISL provided safety and reliability analysis service in support of an agency-wide Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLLV) Trade Study following the recent recommendations made by the "Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee" that NASA should focus its efforts on development of a heavy lift launch vehicle to facilitate future deep-space missions. ISL personnel analyzed several Space Shuttle-based Heavy Lift crew and cargo launch options as well as other design configurations rooted in heritage technologies from current U.S. launch systems. The findings provided insights into the viability of the different vehicle options, as well as general understanding about configurational differences that affect reliability and safety.

ISL Awarded $1.3M Electronic Component Manufacturing Contracts
January 2010

ISL's Manufacturing Solutions Operation has been awarded two contracts totaling $1.3 million from L-3 Communications to provide defense related mission critical electronic components for a military end user application.

Explosive Detection System Contract Award
December 2009

Information Systems Laboratories was recently awarded a contract by the Explosives Detection Subgroup of the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG). ISL will develop a detection and imaging system using mid-IR laser quantum cascade lasers (QCL). The system will be used to detect explosive absorption features and will be combined with visible/thermal imaging cameras. Advanced detection algorithms and image processing will be developed to determine the location and type of explosive, enabling efficient detection and threat resolution.

ISL Provides Support to the White House Commissioned Review of the U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee
October 2009

ISL was the main contractor providing safety and reliability analysis support for the various launch vehicle options considered by the Review of the U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee (a.k.a. the Augustine Panel). ISL personnel analyzed such options as Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) based crew launch options as well as Space Shuttle-based Heavy Lift options. The findings provided insights into the viability of final top-level options being proposed by the Augustine Panel’s final report.

ISL is Small Business Sponsor at 21st Annual NDIA Gold Coast Event
August 4, 2009

ISL participated as a Small Business Sponsor at the 21st Annual NDIA Gold Coast Event held in San Diego, CA. This year's event was extremely successful with over 1500 attendees from government and industry, 229 exhibit booths, 31 poster displays, and 9 workshops. The event was co-sponsored by NAVFAC, SPAWAR, NAVSEA, NAVSUP and NAVAIR. As a small business sponsor and exhibitor, ISL staff had the opportunity to engage with the local Navy and industry community for this productive event which was held on the waterfront at the San Diego Convention Center. We look forward to Gold Coast 2010!