Canada's space agency has officially agreed to provide an external robotics system and execute other efforts for NASA's Gateway, an orbiting space outpost that will support lunar exploration missions.

Canada will provide the Canadarm3 robotic arm and interfaces for robotic modules that would help Gateway personnel install instruments, NASA said Wednesday.

Space technology company MDA is in contract with Canada to produce Canadarm3 that will use artificial intelligence to autonomously support heavy-duty activities.

The U.S. ally will also send two Canadian astronauts to space under the Artemis program that aims to revive manned space exploration. One will go to Gateway, and the other will take part in the Artemis II lunar flyby mission scheduled for 2023.

Gateway's components include the Habitation and Logistics Outpost —the facility's initial cabin that will contain basic life supplies— and the Power and Propulsion Element that will generate solar electric power.

Gen. James Dickinson, leader of U.S. Space Command, said Russia is working on space systems despite claims of trying to prevent a space war. He said these direct-ascent anti-satellite systems threaten space assets belonging to the U.S. and allied forces, Washington Headquarters Services said Wednesday.

“Russia has made space a warfighting domain by testing space-based and ground-based weapons intended to target and destroy satellites," the general stated.

The systems Dickinson pertains to are a space-based weapon, which can strike satellites in orbit, and a DA-ASAT system designed to hit low Earth orbit targets.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also unveiled efforts to make a ground-based laser for his country's space force. Dickinson said these developments collectively do not align with Russia's claim to avoid warfighting in space.

HawkEye 360 has shipped its second cluster of satellites to the launch site at Cape Canaveral, the company reported on Thursday. The satellites are scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 no earlier than January 2021 as part of Spaceflight Inc.'s SXRS-3 rideshare mission. 

"These new satellites continue to push the boundaries of commercial RF sensing. Cluster 2 has up to ten times the collection capacity of our current cluster and improved geolocation accuracy,” said John Serafini, CEO of Hawkeye 360.

HawkEye Cluster 2 is the first of a series of next generation satellites HawkEye 360 is deploying to complete its baseline constellation. Cluster 2 will join the company's Cluster 1 satellites in orbit, following the launch. 

The three Cluster 2 satellites offer greater power and can collect multiple types of signals simultaneously for longer periods of time. These workhorse satellites will allow HawkEye 360 to offer increasingly robust space-based RF data insights to its US government, international government, and commercial customers across a wide range of frequencies.

Each Cluster 2 satellite contains a customized RF payload, developed by HawkEye 360. The satellite buses were manufactured by UTIAS Space Flight Laboratory. HawkEye 360 will complete development of satellites for Clusters 3 and 4, anticipating launch in the middle of 2021. Clusters 5, 6, and 7 are in development with anticipated launch over the next 18 months. 

HawkEye 360's constellation will identify and geolocate RF signals from emitters, including VHF marine radios, UHF push-to-talk radios, maritime and land-based radar systems, L-band satellite devices, and emergency beacons. HawkEye 360 has used proprietary algorithms to process and analyze data that delivers actionable insights. 

“Our customers are asking for more data over more regions, so these next generation satellites are critical to supplying our customers with relevant and timely RF geospatial intelligence for national security, maritime domain awareness, environmental protection, and countless other applications," Serafini added. 

The U.S. Army has partnered with the Clemson University for a research initiative focused on virtual prototyping of ground vehicles that will be equipped with autonomy technology and next generation propulsion and energy systems.

Clemson said Tuesday the new $18M Virtual Prototyping of Ground Systems Center established within the CU-International Center for Automotive Research will be used to support testing of new concepts and algorithms for the autonomous vehicles.

Manned and unmanned teaming in off-road environments, digital engineering and autonomy for multi-scale vehicle fleets are some of the initiative's focus areas.

Following the effort, a physical mock-up of a non-combat ground vehicle with autonomous system will be developed to assess tools resulting from the research.

"Autonomous systems and connected vehicles are some of the most significant factors shaping the mobility industry today, and the work being done in off-road autonomy is truly the next frontier," said Clemson President Jim Clements. "CU-ICAR was designed to foster research and partnerships to benefit our future."

The research initiative is in support of next generation combat vehicle development, one of the Army's Big Six Modernization Priorities.

Deloitte Digital, in partnership with Salesforce, has introduced a new offering that will combine its experience in large scale contact center transformations and human-centered design to enhance customer experience for contact centers, Deloitte Digital reported on Thursday.

"Deloitte Digital is focused on elevating the human experience for customers, members, citizens and agents – and with Salesforce, we can enhance the way service is performed at every touchpoint," said Dave Couture, technology strategy and partnerships principal at Deloitte Consulting.

Deloitte Digital's solution will integrate Salesforce Service Cloud Voice, a cloud-based with AI, analytics, natural language understanding (NLU) to advance the contact center infrastructure. Deloitte Digital will also leverage a design-led approach, contact center strategy and innovative technology to deliver Service Cloud Voice solutions to its customers.

"Deloitte Digital can help companies apply this innovative new service model to enable the contact center to be much more personalized, operated from anywhere, easily scalable and omni-channel," Couture added. 

Deloitte Digital will offer a unified service console, including customer interactions and integration with broader telephony functionality, to improve customer experience. The company’s AI-driven features will enhance self-service, and reduce costs and wait times. 

"Service Cloud Voice leverages Salesforce Service Cloud's 360-degree view to put the focus on the customer, while enabling better speed to market and TCO," said Patrick Beyries, VP of product management at Salesforce. "Service will be inextricably linked to loyalty and business value like never before."  

President Trump has signed a new space policy directive establishing a national strategy to support the development and use of space nuclear power and propulsion (SNPP) systems.

A White House memorandum published Wednesday says SPD-6 includes goals for SNPP development and use, including the development of uranium fuel processing capabilities by mid-2020s, demonstration of a fission power system on the lunar surface by mid- to late-2020s and development of radioisotope power system capabilities by 2030.

Under the directive, the U.S. should adhere to safety, sustainability and security principles when it comes to SNPP systems development and use.

The document also outlines responsibilities for heads of some cabinet agencies. For instance, the secretary of the Department of Defense should conduct and support efforts related to SNPP tech development and utilization to achieve national security objectives, while the NASA administrator should come up with performance requirements for SNPP capabilities.

A group of six senators has called on leaders of the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to respond to several questions with regard to a cyber vulnerability involving SolarWinds’ Orion Network Management products. 

In a Tuesday letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Acting CISA Director Brandon Wales, the lawmakers asked the two agencies to provide a list of federal entities that reported using the products cited in the cyber incident, describe the quantities and categories of data that were vulnerable to unauthorized access and share how their offices organized coordination with federal agencies to support investigative and forensic analysis efforts.

The letter came days after CISA issued an emergency directive directing all agencies to immediately disconnect SolarWinds Orion products versions 2019.4 to 2020.2.1 HF1 from their networks to mitigate the vulnerability.

The senators also want to know about the support SolarWinds has offered to agencies to address data security concerns, whether the investigation identified any lapses in the implementation of the Federal Information Security Modernization Act and how the investigation will assist SolarWinds’ customers in the private sector.

The letter was signed by Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.; Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; John Thune, R-S.D.; Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Roger Wicker, R-Miss.; and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

The FBI, CISA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a joint statement Wednesday announcing the formation of a cyber unified coordination group to facilitate a “whole-of-government response” to the cyber attack.