Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao on Thursday announced the publication of a final rule from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that updates the licensing requirements for commercial space launches and reentry missions.

The new rule combines four regulatory parts to implement a single set of safety and licensing regulations for commercial spaceflight launch and reentry operations, FAA said Thursday.

The Streamlined Launch and Reentry Licensing Requirements Final Rule encourages operators to suggest design and operational platforms to comply with regulatory standards and provides them the flexibility to meet the safety requirements. The new rule will take effect 90 days after publication in the Federal Register.

The updated application processes under the new regulation allow early assessment when applicants incrementally submit parts of their license applications, permit applicants to seek a safety element approval with a license application and provide more flexibility when it comes to demonstrating high consequence event protection.

“This historic, comprehensive update to commercial space launch and reentry licensing requirements facilitates greater growth in this industry and helps America to maintain our #1 position in the world,” Chao said.

FAA will accept public comments through Nov. 16 on three advisory circulars: High Fidelity Flight Safety Analysis, High Consequence Protection and Computing Systems and Software.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has launched a website to modernize the agency’s biometrics-based entry and exit passenger vetting operations. CBP created the website as part of its Biometric Entry-Exit initiative focused on verifying personal identities at ports of entry, Nextgov reported Wednesday.

The new site presents information on the CBP program including 3D models and data on the designated ports where the agency’s biometrics technologies are deployed. CBP’s announcement of the website comes after the agency said its Privacy and Diversity Office is assessing potential privacy impacts in the Traveler Verification Service (TVS) program.

“The application of the facial recognition technology as we apply it, it’s in an environment where an individual would normally expect to have to present themselves for identity verification purposes,” said Diane Sabatino, deputy executive assistant commissioner for CBP's field operations.

Sabatino added that the platform is meant to automate the vetting process and not raise concerns on biometrics-driven privacy breaches.

"Knowing that we're also in an environment where we're vulnerable to cyberattacks, we do use cloud-based technology that only that image for the purposes of identity verification is in that cloud environment,” she stated. 

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has unveiled the winners of an 18-month, $2.1 million challenge for technologies designed to measure or quantify the planet Earth’s magnetic field.

“The importance of the World Magnetic Model cannot be overstated: It is critical to keeping everyday navigational systems running,” said NGA senior GEOINT authority J.N. Markiel, Ph.D. “MagQuest has advanced scientific and technical innovations that could be key to the future of geomagnetic data collection, specifically approaches that are both sustainable and scalable.”

The first place winner, Iota Technology, will be awarded $350K, NGA said Tuesday. MagQuest seeks innovative technologies that could support the World Magnetic Model, a standard that guides navigation and referencing done through Earth’s geomagnetic field.

A Spire Global-SB Quantum team and University of Colorado Boulder will each receive $225K as the competition’s second placers. NGA plans to use MagQuest’s results as input for the future procurement of a global magnetic field data collection system. The agency seeks to operate the sought technology by 2027.

“We are thrilled by how open innovation has allowed us to bring pioneering ideas to life and spur novel technological advancements,” Markiel said. “The competition has not only driven new approaches to geomagnetic data collection, but also shows how open innovation can be used to support the future of critical scientific infrastructure.”

The U.S. Marine Corps’ Combat Logistics Battalion 31 has utilized additive printing technology to produce a prototype handle for a Combat Rubber Raiding Craft.

The team scanned a handle from the vessel and refined the model via the Cura software tool prior to printing, USMC said Wednesday. CLB-31 will upload the design to a Marine Corps database to allow other units to download and produce the model.

“They are going to use the lessons learned in this successful prototype to manufacture two more units and are confident that the effort will ensure that all 20 CRRCs maintain fully operational status,” said Maj. Richard Jahelka, executive officer at the Fox Company’s Battalion Landing Team.

Staff Sgt. Jack Hubbard, a communications electronics maintenance chief at CLB-31, said the U.S. Navy asked the team to produce a knob for forklift batteries.

“The benefits of using a 3D printer are endless,” said Hubbard added. “The cost of the entire unit is $45,000, but it only cost us three dollars to print the knob ourselves.”

After the completion of the task, CLB-31 printed handles to augment sailors’ protection in the delivery of the batteries.