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NASA Completes Green Run Test Series for Artemis Mission’s Engines; Jim Bridenstine Quoted
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NASA Completes Green Run Test Series for Artemis Mission’s Engines; Jim Bridenstine Quoted

NASA, at Stennis Space Center, concluded green run tests of four RS-25 engines that would ignite for the Artemis program's first lunar mission.

The space agency said Sunday it test-fired the engines of the Space Launch System on Saturday for the first mission under Artemis, a NASA-led effort to revive crewed space exploration.

SLS would lift an uncrewed Orion spacecraft that would demonstrate flight in the lunar orbit for the Artemis I mission, now targeted for late 2021.

The four RS-25 engines demonstrated ignition, but remained running for only over a minute, as opposed to the targeted eight-minute firing time. NASA is now looking into possible causes of the premature shutdown.

“Although the engines did not fire for the full duration, the team successfully worked through the countdown, ignited the engines, and gained valuable data to inform our path forward," said Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator and 2019 Wash100 Award recipient.

The agency commenced the green run test series in January last year and experienced delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and some natural disasters. The recent hot-fire test built on the previous green run trials and concluded the series.

NASA, moving forward, will further assess the early shutdown's cause, and will base future decisions on examinations of SLS' core stage and RS-25 engines.

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Navy Research Lab Rolling Out Simulation Engine for Nuclear Detection
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Navy Research Lab Rolling Out Simulation Engine for Nuclear Detection

The U.S. Navy Research Laboratory has developed a new software suite that visualizes nuclear detection operations for modeling and simulation applications under entities like the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

The Navy said Thursday the SoftWare for Optimization of Radiation Detectors 7 engine models nuclear fission scenarios and utilizes an interface for the design and optimization of radiation detectors.

SWORD 7 underwent modifications to include a physics library as well as another fission physics library. Current SWORD users like DHS and DTRA use the simulation tool to study particle interactions and track particle types across a range of engines, NRL noted.

Wade Duvall, a research physicist at NRL, said that SWORD 7 has the capacity to model nuclear reactors as well as other fission resources integrated with ship- and space-based scenarios.

NRL is preparing SWORD 7 for rollout through Oak Ridge National Lab’s Radiation Safety Information Computational Center in the coming months, according to Duvall.

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NHTSA Publishes Vehicle Cybersecurity Guidance Draft
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NHTSA Publishes Vehicle Cybersecurity Guidance Draft

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is seeking inputs for an updated draft of a guidance document that aims to help the vehicle industry enhance its cybersecurity.

Entitled Cybersecurity Best Practices for the Safety of Modern Vehicles, the document contains recommendations on practices that may have safety implications for motor vehicles and associated equipment, the Office of the Federal Register said Tuesday.

NHTSA aims to provide organizations with methods in gauging and responding to residual risks linked with cybersecurity concerns in motor vehicles.

The revised draft builds upon comments submitted by regulated entities, government agencies, trade associations, advocacy groups and various organizations for the document's initial version in 2016.

Some of the feedback cited the need for additional terminologies as well as consideration of cybersecurity as a software development process. Responses to the notice are due March 15.

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Trump Issues Space Policy Directive on Joint GPS, PNT Programs
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Trump Issues Space Policy Directive on Joint GPS, PNT Programs

President Trump has issued a directive mandating NASA, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the departments of Defense (DoD), State and Commerce (DOC) to coordinate and drive U.S. positioning, navigation and timing programs.

Space Policy Directive 7 seeks to sustain and modernize global position system infrastructure for U.S. and allied operations focused on economic, homeland and national security, according to the memo released Friday.

Under the directive, the secretary of state must work with counterparts in defense and transportation to promote agency programs on GPS and foreign civil PNT. The state secretary must also lead efforts to negotiate with foreign nations on military PNT issues, the notice states.

In addition, the secretary of commerce must promote U.S. industry access to foreign space-based PNT markets and invest in research and development efforts on GPS-driven commercial technologies.

The transportation secretary is also mandated to promote civil space-based PNT services while NASA must work to establish GPS requirements for civil and commercial space systems.

Other joint efforts outlined in the directive include protection of the radio-frequency spectrum through “appropriate domestic and international spectrum management and regulatory practices.”

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DISA to Manage DoD’s Cloud Program Office by Jan. 31st
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DISA to Manage DoD’s Cloud Program Office by Jan. 31st

The Department of Defense (DoD) plans to shift oversight of enterprise cloud initiatives from its office of the chief information officer to the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) by Jan. 31st, Nextgov reported Friday.

Vice Adm. Nancy Norton, director of DISA and 2018 Wash100 Award recipient, announced the DoD Cloud Computing Program Office's transition during a prior AFCEA event.

Russell Goemaere, a spokesman for the DOD, told Nextgov in an email that CCPO will serve as a standalone DISA center that will house the agency’s efforts with governance bodies to include cloud-based combat support for defense applications.

Previously, DISA issued a solicitation for the $11 billion Defense Enclave Services contract which seeks to centralize Fourth Estate agencies’ network operations under a standardized architecture.

According to Goemaere, CCPO’s growth to an operational program office serves as the main reason for the transition to DISA. He noted that CCPO will be “better positioned to work hand-in-hand” with other DISA components on cloud transformation efforts as a part of the agency.

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Maxar Names Dr. Heather Wilson to Board of Directors; Dan Jablonsky Quoted
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Maxar Names Dr. Heather Wilson to Board of Directors; Dan Jablonsky Quoted

Maxar Technologies has appointed Dr. Heather Wilson, two-time Wash100 Award recipient, to the company’s Board of Directors to serve as director for a term expiring at the Maxar’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, when she will stand for election by the stockholders, Maxar reported on Tuesday. 

“We are extraordinarily pleased to welcome Dr. Wilson to Maxar’s Board,” said Maxar chairman Gen. (Ret.) Howell Estes III. “Her knowledge and experience from a distinguished career of service to this nation will be incredibly valuable as we provide oversight and guidance for Maxar's next phase.”

Wilson has served as president of The University of Texas at El Paso since 2019. Previously, she was the secretary of the U.S. Air Force for two years. With the service branch, she was responsible for the affairs of the department, including the organizing, training and equipping and providing for the welfare of Active-Duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian forces and their families. 

She also provided oversight of the Air Force’s annual budget of more than $132 billion and directed strategy and policy development, risk management, weapons acquisition, technology investments and human resource management across a global enterprise.

“Dr. Wilson’s deep understanding of the national security and intelligence communities make her an ideal choice as Maxar applies its unique Earth Intelligence and Space Infrastructure capabilities to a growing array of U.S. Government missions,” said Maxar CEO Dan Jablonsky. 

From 1998 to 2009, Wilson represented Albuquerque, New Mexico in the U.S. House of Representatives. She served as senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and chair of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence. 

“We are also passionate about and committed to creating an inclusive environment and building the workforce of the future, and Dr. Wilson’s experience leading the University of Texas at El Paso gives her a unique and valuable perspective in that regard,” Jablonsky added. 

Wilson is a member of the National Science Board and chairs the Women in Aviation Advisory Board of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

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Will Roper Addresses U.S. Air Force Agile Development Into 2021
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Will Roper Addresses U.S. Air Force Agile Development Into 2021

Will Roper, the assistant secretary of acquisition, technology and logistics and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, recently discussed how the U.S. Air Force should leverage data, IT and agility to remain competitive against adversaries across the digital landscape, FedScoop reported on Tuesday.

Roper is responsible for and supervises Air Force research, development and acquisition activities totaling an annual budget in excess of $60 billion for more than 550 acquisition programs. Roper serves as the principal adviser to the secretary and chief of staff of the Air Force for research and development, test, production and modernization efforts within the Air Force.

Roper noted that federal acquisition heads should bring deep technology expertise that extends to modern software development. He added that government officials should continue to leverage software development, cloud, Kubernetes technology and other software development processes to support the Air Force and Space Force.

Moving into 2021, Roper noted that programs such as Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) and IT as a warfighting system should remain as a top priority. ABMS is the Air Force’s technical contribution to the Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) concept. The system links all networks to share data across the services. 

Roper noted that IT is an integral part of warfighting. “IT and connectivity may be the most important thing” to sustain, Roper said. Much of the funding of technology competition has been allocated into research and development (R&D) dollars.

To continue to recruit young airmen and to sustain advancing technologies, dollars needed to be allocated to not only developing new technology but also to investments in back-end systems, Roper added. “Buying the lowest-price technically-acceptable solutions, a tech company would never do that,” he said. 

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Terry Ryan Succeeds Tim Reardon as Constellis CEO
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Terry Ryan Succeeds Tim Reardon as Constellis CEO

Constellis has announced that Tim Reardon, the company’s chief executive officer and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, has resigned from his role, Constellis reported on Tuesday. Lead director and previous Wash100 Award winner Terry Ryan will succeed Reardon as executive chairman and chief executive officer with Constellis, effective immediately.

“I want to thank Tim for his leadership and relentless commitment to supporting our mission partners and dedicated employees, especially over this past year of the pandemic,” Ryan said. “As CEO, Tim successfully led the company through a financial restructuring and corporate-wide integration of multiple business entities,” Ryan added.

Ryan has more than two decades of executive level experience across the federal technical services market. Prior to his tenure with Constellis, Ryan served as chief executive officer of Adroit Systems, VTG and Tenax Aerospace.

In addition, Ryan was named president of the ManTech Systems Engineering & Advanced Technology Group in Sept. 2009. He joined ManTech from Mercury Federal Systems, where he served the president and chairman. Previously, he was senior vice president of Strategic Development for SAIC. With SAIC he was responsible for strategy and mergers and acquisitions for the Intelligence, Security and Technology Group.

Before joining SAIC, Ryan was the vice president and director for SRA International’s C4ISR Center. He also served as the Department of Defense (DoD) director of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR).

He has advised past directors of the CIA and DARPA on advanced technology issues, and has served many years in the federal government. He also served as deputy director, Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office, and as a professional staff member on the United States Senate and House of Representatives Intelligence oversight committees.

“It has truly been an honor to lead such a great company with so many exceptional people, and I am excited about Constellis’ future with Terry at the helm,” Reardon said. “I have great confidence that Terry’s leadership, vision, and industry experience will lead to continuing success.”

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Boeing Completes Starliner Software Qualification; John Vollmer Quoted
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Boeing Completes Starliner Software Qualification; John Vollmer Quoted

Boeing has completed its requalification of the CST-100 Starliner’s flight software, the company reported on Tuesday. With the qualification, Boeing will prepare for its next test flight.  Boeing’s starliner will fly to the International Space Station (ISS) during Orbital Flight Test-2, a second uncrewed flight test, in March 2021. 

“The work this team put into exhaustively wringing out our software is a defining moment for the program,” said John Vollmer, Starliner vice president and program manager. “We’re smarter as a team having been through this process, and most importantly, we’re smarter as a human spaceflight community.”

During Boeing’s requalification, teams conducted a full review of Starliner’s flight software and the process by which mission modifications or upgrades will be formally qualified in the future. The team evaluated Starliner’s software requirements and the testing associated with verification. 

Additionally, the team reviewed Starliner’s Avionics and Software Integration Lab (ASIL) to ensure it was sufficiently outfitted and configured to support all testing. Starliner was also reviewed for integration of software, which included all recommended flight hardware. Software engineers also validated all the simulators and emulators to ensure they were accurate models.

The team also conducted tests to confirm Starliner’s updated software met design specifications. They also directed static and dynamic tests inside the software integration lab. Hardware and software integrated test events are planned with the spacecraft’s launch vehicle provider, United Launch Alliance (ULA), as well as with NASA’s ISS program.

Following testing, Boeing will then conduct an end-to-end simulation of the OFT-2 test flight, using flight hardware and the final versions of Starliner’s flight software to model the spacecraft’s behavior, including pre-launch, docking, undocking and landing.

“Throughout all the turmoil 2020 handed us, this team remained energetic and inspired to be successful,” said Aaron Kraftcheck, Starliner’s software test and verification manager. “They want to do their very best for their country and their fellow citizens by helping to restore the pride NASA has in flying humans safely in space.”

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NASCIO Highlights Harmonized Cyber Regulations in 2021 Fed Advocacy Priorities
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NASCIO Highlights Harmonized Cyber Regulations in 2021 Fed Advocacy Priorities

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) plans to focus on providing state and local governments with a cybersecurity grant program, aligning federal regulations on cybersecurity and launching other efforts to ensure governments are capable of defending against increasing cybersecurity attacks.

NASCIO released Thursday that its federal advocacy priorities for 2021 intended to highlight the need for states and the federal government to work closely together to achieve cyber resiliency.

According to the paper, the nonprofit will advocate for use of .gov domain across governments, expansion of broadband access and changes to how the Federal Communications Commission conducts broadband mapping. NASCIO will also call for state and local governments’ funding for the modernization of aging information technology systems.

Denis Goulet, NASCIO president and New Hampshire commissioner and CIO, said the priorities underscore the need to have a “multi-faceted approach to cybersecurity.”

“COVID-19 has also shed light on issues, like modernization and broadband, that states have grappled with for years,” said Goulet. “It is our hope that highlighting these topics in our advocacy priorities will help states confront these challenges.”

Of the said priorities, the widespread adoption of the .gov domain and the coordination of federal cybersecurity regulations were retained from NASCIO’s 2020 Federal Advocacy Priorities.

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