The Naval Research Laboratory has deployed a plasma sensor platform aboard SpaceX‘s Dragon spacecraft as part of the company’s 17th cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station. The Space PlasmA Diagnostic suitE is built to track space weather conditions around ISS and detect potential hazardous charging levels for the station, the U.S. Navy said Monday.
In addition, SPADE will highlight the instrument’s response to any changes in the plasma sheath and excite local plasma through the use of an active antenna. A passive antenna will observe the excitation process.
“This opens many new possibilities for measurements in industrial processed plasmas and in atmospheric pressure discharge experiments,” said Erik Tejero, plasma physicist at NRL’s plasma physics division.
Related Articles
The General Services Administration has launched USAi, a secure generative artificial intelligence suite designed to help federal agencies experiment with AI tools and accelerate AI adoption. GSA said Thursday the launch of USAi advances the priorities in the White House’s America’s AI Action Plan, which seeks to strengthen U.S. leadership in AI through coordinated federal action, streamlined adoption and smarter infrastructure. A panel discussion at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Navy Summit on Aug. 26 will explore generative AI and how it optimizes decision-making within the service branch. Book your spot now at this GovCon networking event! Expanding Federal Government’s
Nextgov/FCW reported that the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council on Thursday released new model deviation text for six parts of the FAR as part of the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul, or RFO, initiative. In April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing his administration to amend FAR to streamline the federal procurement process and eliminate barriers to doing business with the government. In June, the FAR Council released model deviation text for sections related to emergency acquisitions, contract modifications and acquisition of information and communication technology, or ICT. The overhauled FAR parts include sections related to administrative and information matters; required sources of
The National Science Foundation and NVIDIA will invest $152 million in the development of advanced, open-source artificial intelligence models aimed at accelerating American scientific discovery. The public-private investment will support the Open Multimodal AI Infrastructure to Accelerate Science project led by the Allen Institute for AI, or Ai2, NSF said Thursday. Public-Private Investment for Open Source AI Models NSF will provide $75 million, with NVIDIA contributing $77 million. The initiative supports the White House AI Action Plan and aims to ensure the United States remains a leader in AI-powered research and innovation. “As called for in the AI Action Plan,