National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to launch new technology lab

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) officials said a geospatial technology lab slated for launch at the T-REX innovation center in St. Louis, Missouri, would advance regional NGA, industry, and academia efforts.

“We will deliver trusted GEOINT with the speed, accuracy, and precision required to hold at risk the strategic forces our adversaries use to project power and threaten the United States and our Allies,” NGA Director Vice Adm. Robert Sharp said via the recently released Director’s Intent.

Sharp garnered inspiration from President John F. Kennedy’s moonshot assertion in September 1962. NGA predecessor organizations mapped the moon in support of the Apollo missions in the 1960s. The labs are expected to support the NGA moonshot while bolstering the regional technology ecosystem.

Moonshot Labs, which have an anticipated completion date of spring 2021, will be a high-tech space specializing in geospatial technology, consisting of software developers, technologists, and data science personnel.

T-REX is a non-profit innovation and entrepreneur development facility dedicated to strengthening the economic vitality of St. Louis via one startup at a time.

Authorities maintain the initiative to attract innovation to the city’s downtown core region and incorporate a coworking space, technology incubator, and entrepreneur resource center – offering an ecosystem where ideas are conceived, brought to fruition, and afforded growth opportunities.