Orlando startup wins global award
A month-old tech company in Orlando can celebrate this week after a national organization recognized its efforts.
LeaseCake, a tenantmanagement platform for owners of small- and medium-sized properties, was named the top new business to come out of a global event known as Techstars Global Startup Weekend.
Techstars, one of the prominent events in the startup industry, often hosts Startup Weekends, which ask those in attendance to create a business –- complete with business plan and as deep of a product as possible –- in three days.
The judges panel included entrepreneur and early Uber investor David Cohen and Director of Google for Entrepreneurs Mary Grove.
More than 12,000 people attended events across the world in November, resulting in 175 local winners, according to Techstars.
The Elon Musk-led space company used Twitter to show off three photos of the heavy-lift rocket, expected to take its first test launch in January.
However, that date has been repeatedly delayed.
The post, which included the simple message “Falcon Heavy at the Cape,” also featured three photos, including two showing the rockets laying on the Space Coast facility and a third showing the rockets’ thrusters.
The Falcon Heavy has been one of the more-anticipated missions of 2018 as SpaceX works toward a mission to Mars.
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin announced on Twitter this week that its Space Coast facility has delivered propellant tanks to Launch Complex 36.
“Starting to look more and more like a launch pad! #NewGlenn.”
The hashtag calls out the company’s orbital launch vehicle, which will be built mostly on the Space Coast in a new facility that recently opened and is set for a public debut early next year.
Lockheed Martin has landed a nearly $1 billion contract to maintain and upgrade targeting pods the U.S. Air Force uses in several fighter planes, including the B-52 and F-16.
Most of the work for the deal worth $961 million will be completed in Central Florida, company officials said. The contract calls for the company to produce the pods by Dec. 17, 2022.
It will cover logistics, spare parts, and software and sensor enhancements on the military agency’s 683 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods, which can detect, identify and track small targets at long ranges. Lockheed Martin employs 97,000 people, including about 7,000 in Central Florida.
“We are proud to continue partnering with the U.S. Air Force to deliver our most advanced targeting technology and support ongoing operations,” said Paul Lemmo, a vice president of at Lockheed Martin’s Orlando-based Missiles and Fire Control, in a release.
The Sniper pods have been used by the U.S. Air Force and 25 of Lockheed Martin’s international customers.