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SDA Launches Experimental Satellites, Payload for National Defense Space Architecture Goals; Derek Tournear Quoted
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SDA Launches Experimental Satellites, Payload for National Defense Space Architecture Goals; Derek Tournear Quoted

The Space Development Agency (SDA) confirmed the deployment of its two satellite sets built to demonstrate optical communications in low-Earth orbit and a payload intended to test space data fusion.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida carrying the Mandrake II and Laser Interconnect Networking Communications System satellites along with the Prototype On-orbit Experimental Testbed (POET) payload as part of the company’s Transporter-2 rideshare mission, the Department of Defense said Wednesday.

Derek Tournear, director of SDA and a 2021 Wash100 Award recipient, said the agency expects its initial on-orbit experiments to generate real-world information that can facilitate space qualification of emerging technology and spiral development approach for the National Defense Space Architecture.

SDA intends to assess pointing, acquisition and tracking tools that support Optical Communication Terminals through the Mandrake II mission, with the help of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

The agency will work with General Atomics’ electromagnetic systems business to gather optical communications data through the LINCS platform and to demonstrate optical bandwidth connections using spacecraft and an OCT pod.

For the on-orbit POET demonstration, the agency expects a third-party data fusion application to lodge with a battle management command, control and communications software suite created for DARPA’s Blackjack Pit Boss processor.

DOD said these agency-led missions will support new technology implementation work in every tranche of the NDSA development initiative.

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Deloitte Report: Agencies Accelerate Digital Journeys in 3 Aspects to Meet Demand for Digital Services
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Deloitte Report: Agencies Accelerate Digital Journeys in 3 Aspects to Meet Demand for Digital Services

A report from The Deloitte Center for Government Insights says the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated governments’ digital transformation efforts with agencies advancing their digital journeys by scaling their digital infrastructure, investing in citizen connectivity and establishing a more digital workforce.

Agencies seeking to meet the increasing demand for digital services have scaled their digital capabilities by using cloud platforms, advancing the use of artificial intelligence and automation and establishing a “whole of government” digital architecture, Mike Canning, government and public services leader at Deloitte Consulting, and others wrote in an an article published Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal.

Canning and his colleagues at Deloitte said federal agency leaders should work together to come up with a strategic approach to digital modernization and one of the components of that approach is embracing operational adaptability by expanding the business models that could help the agency adapt in evolving conditions and breaking down silos that may hinder optimization.

Other components agency officials should consider are the establishment of intelligent workflows through the use of AI and automation; enhancement of infrastructure resilience by providing cyber response and resilience; creation of a scalable infrastructure by leveraging cloud; and development of digitally savvy, open talent networks by upskilling and training the workforce and backing human-machine collaboration.

“With the Biden administration’s addition of $1 billion to the Technology Modernization Fund for shared IT and cybersecurity services across government, agency leaders including CIOs, CFOs, and chief risk officers should be working hand-in-hand to ensure their agency makes the right investments and adopts a cohesive approach to modernizing digital capabilities,” they wrote.

Manning co-wrote the article with William Eggers, executive director at The Deloitte Center for Government Insights, Deloitte Services; Dave Mader, chief strategy officer for the civilian sector, Government and Public Services at Deloitte Consulting; and Meghan Sullivan, principal, Government and Public Services, Deloitte Consulting.

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BigBear.ai and UAV Factory Form Partnership To Develop AI/ML Capable Unmanned Systems; GovCon Expert Dr. Reggie Brothers Quoted
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BigBear.ai and UAV Factory Form Partnership To Develop AI/ML Capable Unmanned Systems; GovCon Expert Dr. Reggie Brothers Quoted

BigBear.ai announced on Thursday that the company has entered into a memorandum of understanding agreement with UAV Factory to develop artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities for its unmanned systems and components for use in autonomous operations in the defense and commercial markets.

Dr. Reggie Brothers, BigBear.ai’s CEO and GovCon Expert, commented, “BigBear.ai is proud to have been exclusively selected by UAV Factory to support the technological enablement of its proven unmanned aerial platform.”

“BigBear.ai is one of the few companies with a track record of delivering AI-enabled solutions to the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and commercial sector for many years, and our proven capabilities in this area will assist UAV Factory and its global customers with a critical need,” added Dr. Brothers, a 2021 Wash100 Award recipient.

Through the partnership, UAV Factory will incorporate BigBear.ai’s highly innovative AI/ML technology and expertise into its systems which enables cutting-edge autonomous ISR capabilities to UAV Factory’s clientele.

BigBear.ai has strong experience in delivering the Department of Defense advanced AI/ML technologies. For example, the company provides direct support to the Defense Intelligence Agency in developing patterns of life analysis from imagery and SIGINT data collected by manned and unmanned platforms.

Joshua Stinson, UAV Factory senior vice president, stated, “BigBear.ai is a recognized global leader in the AI/ML industry and this partnership will allow us to deliver greater platform autonomy to the DoD and the IC in support of processing, exploitation and dissemination, and pattern of life analysis.”

“Not only will this partnership aid in bringing advanced technologies to the defense market, it also will bring groundbreaking applications to support the energy, logistics, and infrastructure market to support U.S. interests at home and abroad,” concluded Stinson.

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CSA Acquires Capstone LLC, Blue Delta Capital Partners Invests; CEO Amy Bleken Quoted
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CSA Acquires Capstone LLC, Blue Delta Capital Partners Invests; CEO Amy Bleken Quoted

Client Solution Architects (CSA), a leading digital transformation consulting firm, announced on Thursday that the company has acquired Capstone LLC for an undisclosed amount to strengthen its presence across all federal enterprise information technology service areas.

“Combining with Capstone, we immediately establish a broader set of strategic digital transformation services that better support our combined Navy, Army and Joint DOD client base, as well as create a unified team of like-minded and culturally aligned professionals,” said Amy Bleken, CEO of CSA.

In addition to the acquisition, CSA announced an investment from Blue Delta Capital Partners as a part of the transaction along with a separate senior debt from Atlantic Union Bank. Although none of the financial terms were disclosed, CSA notes that the combined company will have over $100 million in revenue upon the completion of the Capstone LLC acquisition.

CSA Acquires Capstone LLC, Blue Delta Capital Partners Invests; CEO Amy Bleken Quoted
Mark Frantz, general partner for Blue Delta

The combined company will provide robust enterprise IT and mission-centric portfolios in crucial areas such as IT modernization, cybersecurity, automation, data management, DevOps and process improvement.

“We believe CSA’s digital transformation and IT modernization capabilities can scale to new heights at the Navy and the DoD with this acquisition of Capstone they just completed,” said Mark Frantz, general partner for Blue Delta.

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Peraton Supports Rapid SDA Satellite Launch on SpaceX’s Falcon 9; Roger Mason Quoted
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Peraton Supports Rapid SDA Satellite Launch on SpaceX’s Falcon 9; Roger Mason Quoted

Peraton announced on Thursday that two Space Development Agency (SDA) prototype satellites were successfully placed in orbit due to the company’s work to secure rideshare space on the SpaceX Transporter-2 mission and performance of launch integration activities.

"We are privileged to help SDA accelerate the development and fielding of new capabilities necessary to ensure our technological and military advantage in space for national defense," commented Roger Mason, Peraton Space & Intelligence Sector president. 

"When asked to fill a gap for SDA and quickly acquire commercial launch services, we secured the rideshare and took full responsibility for the launch integration activities. These LINCS experiments will provide data to advance the national defense space architecture,” added Mason, a previous Wash100 Award recipient.  

The Transporter-2 mission, launched by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, exited the atmosphere on June 30th with two SDA 12U Laser Interconnect & Communications System (LINCS) satellites. 

Peraton was required to support the SDA in this mission because of its Mission Systems Engineering and Integration (MSE&I) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract. This contract calls for Peraton to assist in filling gaps where SDA lacks necessary in-agency capabilities.

In the Transporter-2 mission, Peraton identified rideshare opportunities, procured the rideshare slot on Transporter-2 and provided integration services to deliver the LINCS satellites into orbit. The work included mission management, interface definition and production, spacecraft-to-launch vehicle integration at the launch site and flight safety certification. 

The SDA MSE&I contract also requires Peraton to supply full-lifecycle systems engineering and integration services to support development, fielding and operations for SDA's Tranche 0 system. Tranche 0 is a constellation of 28 spacecraft, ground segments, mission planning and command and control capabilities designed to advance warfighter mission scenarios and critical experiments.

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CISA’s Matt Hartman: Government Agencies Commence Zero Trust Planning
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CISA’s Matt Hartman: Government Agencies Commence Zero Trust Planning

Matt Hartman, deputy executive assistant director at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), said many federal agencies are now developing zero trust implementation plans to align with President Biden's executive order on cybersecurity.

Hartman said at an event of the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council that the White House, CISA and other security entities are helping different agencies start and accelerate zero trust implementation, FCW reported Wednesday.

"It's important to consider that many of these tasks [in the executive order] are sprints to develop strategies," he said.

The executive order tasks agencies to turn in zero-trust plans by July 11th and report progress to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The CISA official added that the administration will need years of continued focus and investment to address many existing core issues.

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DHS Taps Professional Engineering Association to Refine PNT Resilience Framework; Kathryn Coulter Mitchell Quoted
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DHS Taps Professional Engineering Association to Refine PNT Resilience Framework; Kathryn Coulter Mitchell Quoted

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has assigned the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) a project to develop global industry standards to manage the resilience of positioning, navigation and timing systems.

IEEE will work to fine-tune the Resilient PNT Conformance Framework the department’s science and technology directorate created with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s National Risk Management Center and industry stakeholders to address global positioning system vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure, DHS said Wednesday.

The non-prescriptive document outlines four resilience levels meant to guide infrastructure owners and operators in determining what PNT equipment to use.

Kathryn Coulter Mitchell, acting undersecretary of the DHS S&T directorate, noted the framework transition effort seeks to transform how PNT systems are designed, acquired and deployed.

The department said PNT information is considered “a national critical function” that supports the electric grid, port, telecommunication and agricultural sectors.

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Carnegie Mellon’s SEI Unveils White Papers on 3 Pillars of AI Engineering; Rachel Dzombak Quoted
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Carnegie Mellon’s SEI Unveils White Papers on 3 Pillars of AI Engineering; Rachel Dzombak Quoted

Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute has released white papers on three pillars of artificial intelligence engineering: human centered, robust and secure and scalable.

The human-centered pillar of AI engineering seeks to ensure that AI platforms are developed in accordance with the ethical principles of the Department of Defense and other agencies, SEI said Wednesday.

The institute’s white paper on this AI engineering pillar has three focus areas: the need for designers and systems to understand context of use and sense changes over time; development of tools, processes and practices to scope and facilitate human-machine teaming; and mechanisms, methods and mindsets to engage in critical oversight.

The document on robust and secure AI focuses on the development of processes and tools for testing, analyzing and evaluating AI systems, improvement of robustness of AI systems and components and the need to design for security challenges in modern AI platforms.

The institute highlights three focus areas in its white paper on scalable AI and those are scalable management of data and models, scalable infrastructure and algorithms and enterprise scalability of AI development and deployment.

"These papers state the open questions we see in the field and identify gaps where work is needed. If we want to drive progress in the field, we need to start taking steps towards defining and answering these hard questions,” said Rachel Dzombak, digital transformation lead at SEI's Emerging Technology Center.

"By putting these pillars in place as AI system design and development starts, you're more likely to build systems that achieve mission outcomes,” noted Dzombak, who also leads the institute’s work on AI engineering.

These papers on the pillars of AI engineering stem from an SEI-led national initiative sponsored by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence aimed at establishing the discipline of AI engineering for national security and defense.

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Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Passes Away
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Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Passes Away

Donald Rumsfeld, a two-time defense secretary, passed away Wednesday at the age of 88, DOD News reported.

Rumsfeld served as secretary of the Department of Defense (DOD) in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and George W. Bush, making him the country’s youngest and oldest individual to serve in the role.

He served as a congressman and a top aide to the president on defense-related matters. He became CEO of two Fortune 500 companies after six decades of public service.

Gen. Lloyd Austin, DOD secretary and a 2021 Wash100 Award winner, issued a statement on Rumsfeld’s passing and accomplishments as a public servant.

“Mr. Rumsfeld had the singular distinction of holding that post for two non-consecutive tenures, serving as both the 13th Secretary of Defense and the 21st. He also served in the U.S. Navy in 1954-57 as a pilot and a flight instructor, and he continued his service as a reservist until 1975 when he became Secretary of Defense for the first time,” Austin said.

“Over the decades of his remarkable career, from Congress to the White House to the Pentagon, Secretary Rumsfeld was propelled by his boundless energy, probing intellect, and abiding commitment to serve his country. On behalf of the Department of Defense, I extend my deep condolences to his family and loved ones,” he added.

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NASA Promotes Acting Johnson, Kennedy Directors to Full-Time Roles; Bill Nelson Quoted
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NASA Promotes Acting Johnson, Kennedy Directors to Full-Time Roles; Bill Nelson Quoted

NASA has appointed Vanessa Wyche and Janet Petro as permanent directors of the agency's Johnson Space Center in Texas and Kennedy Space Center in Florida, respectively.

The two executives have led the field centers on an acting basis since May, the agency said Wednesday.

Wyche is responsible for overseeing JSC's human spaceflight efforts that include International Space Station mission operations and the Orion program. The 31-year agency veteran previously worked as the Johnson deputy director, led the center’s exploration integration and science directorate and managed flight activity for multiple space shuttle missions.

Petro oversees a multiuser spaceport that supports NASA science and human exploration missions and commercial customers. She was the Kennedy deputy director for 13 years and played a key role in cross-agency initiatives to drive the domestic commercial space market as well as transform government processes.

“Both Vanessa and Janet are exceptional leaders who will help propel NASA forward as we venture farther out into the cosmos than ever before,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.

Their promotions to full-time posts come as the agency approaches what Nelson describes a “new era of space exploration” that will kick off with the flight of the Artemis I lunar mission later this year.

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