A fire protection products company in the Fort Wayne area has collaborated with a Reston, Virginia-based science and technology company to supply the International Space Station with lithium-ion Battery Fire Containment Bags.

Spencerville-based Brimstone Fire Protection partnered with Leidos on the project for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, according to a prepared statement.

Leidos had NASAs ISS Vehicle Office and Johnson Space Center Battery Group cargo mission contract to develop a safe new packing product for lithium-ion batteries stored on the space station and teamed up with Brimstone for that.

Their new product was brought aboard the space station the last weekend of September.

NASA safety standards previously relied on extensive pre-flight screening of lithium-ion batteries and storage constraints once they were on board the space station.

But, the ISS has seen an influx of new, smaller payload providers, each using their own type of battery packs to power the equipment they are transporting there for experiments, the statement said.

This created a need for a standardized battery packaging product for NASAs Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, it said.

NASA, Leidos and Brimstone started an extensive process early this year of designing, then testing, packaging made specifically for battery storage in space.

A detailed series of frequent, repeated tests on Brimstones Fire Containment Bags, which started early this year, showed when used with an insulating wrap they prevented thermal runaway into other bags touching them.

This meets all the criteria for the envisioned NASA implementation, including size, materials, accessibility, packing density, and cost, the statement said.

Daniel Barineau, a Leidos senior project manager who has supported ISS and Space Shuttle hardware development projects for 30 years, praised Brimstone and its leadership for rapid delivery and frequent consultation, which included offering historical expertise on the development of the battery stowage bags.

I have had the chance to work with many subcontractors and suppliers. In all those years, I have never come across a company that was as responsive, customer focused, and easy to work with as Brimstone, he said.

They have modified their off-the-shelf designs to meet our needs and have shown a willingness to go above and beyond to make our efforts a success under a compressed schedule.

Recreational vehicle manufacturers, suppliers and dealers celebrated the opening of the newly renovated, 18,000-square-foot RV Technical Institute facility in Elkhart last month.

A grand opening for the facility there at 3333 Middlebury St. took place Sept. 23. Visitors had a chance to see its new office space, student lounge, seven classrooms and 10,000-square-foot bay area with RVs for hand-on training as well as component parts lesson areas.

Our dedicated staff have created a visionary, forward-thinking program designed to solve our industry-wide need for trained technicians, Curt Hemmeler, executive director for the institute, said in a statement.

Today marks the first step on that journey as we officially open our doors and invite students into our new facility to become trained technicians, expand on their existing education and launch the program to regional partners across the country.

The RV Industry Associations board approved a comprehensive strategic plan and a multi-million-dollar investment in the institute a couple of years ago to boost RV owner satisfaction and strengthen repeat business.

I believe in our new model for technician training and the impact increased tech training will have on the entire industry, Matt Miller, the institutes chairman, said in the statement.

This initiative will help close the skills gap, draw new talent into the growing RV industry, retain existing RV techs and ultimately create a better experience for our customers, the RV consumer, said Miller, who also is president of the luxury motor coach manufacturer, Newmar Corp.

The institutes strategic plan called for it to address the industrys trained technician shortage and establish metrics to track the RV customer experience with a goal of reducing repair event cycle times. The statement said it has received broad industry support.

We now have a standard, a uniform process for training, testing and certification that will be incorporated at a national level through a vast network of regional partners, Craig Kirby, the associations interim president, said in the statement.

Curt came into the process with a vision that combines both his business acumen and his experience within the education and training world. Curt will also tell you that as someone who got his start in the Air Force as a technician, at heart, he is still a tech himself, Kirby said.

Thinking like a technician allows Curt to view the Institutes mission through this lens, developing a program that includes improving the career path so we can better recruit and retain technicians across the country.

The association established the institute with a $5 million investment, which was matched by Go RVing, a consumer outreach campaign it manages with the RV Dealers Association.

Comcast Corp. is increasing broadband speeds for a most of its Indiana customers, who are on some of its most popular Xfinity Internet packages.

The Philadelphia-based provider of broadband, Cable TV and internet phone services started the upgrades late last month. It said it was increasing its Performance tier to 100 megabits per second from 60 Mbps, Blast! to 200 from 150, Extreme to 300 from 250 and Extreme Pro to 600 from 400.

Close to 85% of the companys Indiana customers are on one of the plans scheduled for the faster speeds and the upgrades will take place whether customers are buying Xfinity Internet as part of a package or on a stand-alone basis, the company said in a statement.

Comcast increased speeds for its Blast! and Extreme Indiana subscribers last year, and during the past two years its Indiana customers have seen speeds increase more than 50% on average, it said.

The increases are designed to keep pace with growing demand for high-capacity, extremely fast connections capable of handling an explosion of smart home devices with features requiring Internet access.

Comcast has doubled its fiber miles and quadrupled its network capacity to bring gigabit speeds to more homes than any other internet service provider during the past four years, it said.

Were not only delivering the broadband speed and capacity that customers need to run more sophisticated home networks, were setting the bar for coverage and control, too, Tim Collins, regional senior vice president for Comcast Indiana, said in the statement.

Modern homes require fast Internet, wall-to-wall Wi-Fi, and a way to manage the connectivity needs of the entire household. With xFi, were giving our Internet customers the tools to manage the growing number of connected devices, apps and technologies in their homes.

Customers who lease a gateway from the company will receive the upgrade without needing to reset their modems for it, the statement said.

The company recommends subscribers with their own modems check online to see if they will need a new one to handle the faster speeds.

Jason West of Digital Watchdog was scheduled to speak at the next meeting of the Networking Information Technology Associations Fort Wayne chapter.

West was to speak on internet protocol-based security trends and best practices to help protect employees and assets during the meeting scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Oct. 4 at Catablu, 6372 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Fort Wayne.

With a video security career of more than 15 years, West has helped design and install those types of systems for a variety of industrial, commercial, education, retail and residential customers.

In addition to creating safe environments, he works to design systems that are easy to use and are capable of providing court admissible evidence quickly.

For the rest of this year and next year, the local chapter of NITA said it plans to meet on the first Friday instead of the first Thursday of each month.

The Fort Wayne Inventors Club has scheduled its next meeting for 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at TekVenture, 1550 Griffin St. in Fort Wayne.

The group, formed to advance invention in the region, requires no dues or fees and asks only that individuals come to its meetings with a curious mind, desire to learn and a willingness to help fellow inventors.

More information about it is available from http://www.fortwayneinventorsclub.org or by contacting Dave Gross, president and CEO of Collision Control Communications.

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Brimstone battery bags on board Space Station - FW Business