NASA has completed the requirements needed to move forward with the production and testing of a mission to study the Trojan asteroids near Jupiter. The space agency said Friday its Lucy mission, under the Discovery Program, has reached the Key Decision Point-D milestone and may now move forward to components delivery, assembly, integration and testing activities.

Lucy's spacecraft bus will undergo completion and integration with science instruments under the next phase before delivery to  NASA's Florida-based Kennedy Space Center.

"We now have a spacecraft structure in the Lockheed Martin high bay and a team ready to install the instruments and components," said Donya Douglas-Bradshaw, project manager for Lucy at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

A team at Lockheed Martin's Colorado-based space unit already commenced work on Lucy's assembly, testing and launch operations. Lucy will undergo a mission operation review in October 2020, for NASA to verify the spacecraft's operational readiness.

NASA expects to conclude testing by July 2021, with the launch scheduled for October 16, 2021.

L3Harris Technologies has been selected by Airbus Defence and Space to build a space reflector antenna for a next-generation satellite that will provide mobile telecommunication services throughout the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Central Asia, the company reported on Tuesday.

“This space reflector antenna program is a significant new win for L3Harris and complements our broader strategy of providing end-to-end communication solutions for commercial customers,” said Ed Zoiss, president, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris. “L3Harris will manufacture, test, deliver and support field activities for the 12-meter reflector antenna.”

L3Harris has designed and built large-aperture reflectors and deployable mesh reflector-feed antenna systems ranging from one meter to the world’s largest commercially available 22-meter reflector. L3Harris has nearly 100 reflectors on orbit. The reflector antenna for the Yahsat/Thuraya 4-NGS satellite will be manufactured and tested at L3Harris facilities in Palm Bay, Fla.

Equipped on the geostationary satellite, L3Harris’ efforts will help AirBus carry an L-band payload that will enable high-speed services for all customer segments, including defense, government and enterprise throughout multiple continents. The satellite is scheduled for operation in 2024.

About L3Harris Technologies

L3Harris Technologies is an agile global aerospace and defense technology innovator, delivering end-to-end solutions that meet customers’ mission-critical needs. The company provides advanced defense and commercial technologies across air, land, sea, space and cyber domains. L3Harris has approximately $18 billion in annual revenue and 48,000 employees, with customers in more than 100 countries. L3Harris.com.

BlackBerry Limited’s Unified Endpoint Manager (UEM) software has achieved Department of Defense Information Network (DoDIN) approval as a Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution, the company reported on Tuesday. 

"BlackBerry is extremely proud to be a partner of the United States Federal Government for over twenty years," said John Chen, executive chairman and CEO, BlackBerry.  "DISA is responsible for delivering world-class secure communications and collaboration tools across the DoD and BlackBerry is honored to receive approval to be on the DoDIN APL."

BlackBerry UEM is the only MDM solution on the DoDIN Approved Product List (APL). The DoDIN APL is a single consolidated list of communication and collaboration products that have completed Cybersecurity and Interoperability certification across the DoDIN.  

The approval was released by the Defense Information Systems Agency's (DISA) chief information assurance executive (CIAE). The approval adds to BlackBerry’s capabilities to provide work to the federal government. BlackBerry also recently announced that its BlackBerry Government Mobility Suite has achieved Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) authorization.

The company’s Government Mobility Suite is a cloud-based endpoint management solution developed specifically for U.S. government agencies. The solution will protect both stored and in transit sensitive data and will allow secure browsing and access to applications behind government agency firewalls.

BlackBerry Government Mobility Suite will eliminate the need for federal agencies to own, operate and constantly recapitalize on on-premises equipment. The BlackBerry Government Solutions U.S.-based and U.S. citizen-staffed Security Operations and Compliance teams will manage the FedRAMP continuous monitoring and remediation program. 

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints including 175M cars on the road today.  Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint security management, encryption, and embedded systems.  BlackBerry's vision is clear – to secure a connected future you can trust.

Airgility has developed aerial unmanned systems that can fly anywhere, including areas where there is limited or no GPS access and in confined areas to support the national security and defense missions, the company reported last month.

“When you look at not just 10 years out, or 20 years out, we’re looking to design a future system from the ground up that’ll be fully AI enabled, perhaps, in some farther end of the spectrum in terms of autonomy. We’ll have legacy systems and hybrid systems on the way,” said Col. David Barnes, chief AI ethics officer for the Army AI Task Force, in regards to the future of autonomous vehicles.

The company’s advanced capabilities will enable Airgility to conduct the critical missions which include search and rescue, secure borders and deliver medical supplies to remote areas, among others. Airgility’s drones have leveraged artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to perceive surroundings, which has enabled the vehicle to map areas, track objects and provide analytical feedback in real-time.

Airgility has developed AI-powered aerial robots for public safety, security and defense, and the commercial sector that are capable of both outdoor and indoor autonomous, self-directed flight. The systems have been powered Airgility’s proprietary operating system, aerial robots can operate independently in complex environments.

The company has also begun development of drone platforms that do not rely on human control or GPS information. Airgility’s unique technology is built upon the fusion of multiple redundant sensors, mapping for obstacle avoidance, and autonomous flight.

The Internal Revenue Service’s newly established enterprise digitalization and case management office (EDCMO) is designing information technology pilot projects to improve taxpayers’ experiences by going paperless and streamlining business processes, FedScoop reported Monday.

“We’re going to be maintaining a test and learn approach, particularly early on,” Mitchell Winans, senior adviser within EDCMO, said during a recent ACT-IAC event. “I think we’re probably going to identify some specific use cases and try to take some targeted approaches on that just to see what we can learn about improving that experience for that particular customer or for that particular IRS employee.”

Winans said the new IRS office seeks to train personnel how to use machine-readable data and reduce paper volume at the agency. He also noted about the need to advance change management.

“There still is room for improvement when it comes to exploring, adopting and integrating different tools or technologies into our day-to-day activities,” Winans added.