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Parsons Announces ALS Strategic Partnership to Expand Space Market; Aarish Gokaldas, Phil Smith Quoted
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Parsons Announces ALS Strategic Partnership to Expand Space Market; Aarish Gokaldas, Phil Smith Quoted

Parsons Announces ALS Strategic Partnership to Expand Space Market; Aarish Gokaldas, Phil Smith Quoted

Parsons has partnered with Adaptive Launch Solutions (ALS) for launch and space system engineering, operations and integration opportunities with the U.S. government and commercial customers, Parsons announced on Wednesday.

“United States government organizations and commercial companies are realizing the benefits from advancements made in small and mid- size satellite capabilities,” stated Phil Smith, chief executive officer of ALS. “Together ALS and Parsons will help our customers meet their program objectives and achieve their business plans by providing reliable, responsive launch integration.”

Aarish Gokaldas, executive vice president of the Parsons Space and Geospatial Solutions market, noted that Parsons will integrate scalable,  end-to-end launch operations to optimize the space mission. The company will collaborate with ALS to develop a strategic plan and create new hardware solutions.

Additionally, the  partnership will integrate an expansive payload and separation in orbit. Parsons and ALS will merge efforts to develop more options for launch and simplify the process included in vehicle systems interfaces.

Parsons and ALS are both on the U.S. Space Force Launch Manifest Systems Integrator (LMSI) program, with Parsons serving as the prime contractor. The Parsons and ALS team successfully completed the first launch as part of the LMSI program in August 2019. The second launch is scheduled for March 2020.

“The combination of Parsons and ALS will continue unlocking the potential of the space domain for our customers,” said Gokaldas.

Along with the launch partnership, Parsons has become increasingly involved in space research and development. In Jan. 2020,  the company received a task order from the General Services Administration (GSA) to provide cybersecurity support for government-owned space defense platforms.

Under the task order, the company will develop secure architectures, engineer and integrate systems and assess cyber risks  in a push to help customers avoid cyber attacks on national space infrastructure. Parsons noted its experience in cyber development, information assurance and multidomain operations can help GSA to address the federal government’s security requirements.

About Parsons

Parsons (NYSE: PSN) is a leading disruptive technology provider in the global defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets, with capabilities across cybersecurity, missile defense, space, connected infrastructure, and smart cities. Please visit parsons.com, and follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook to learn how we’re making an impact.

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CISA Official Offers Cyber Updates During Presidential Primary Elections
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CISA Official Offers Cyber Updates During Presidential Primary Elections
CISA Official Offers Cyber Updates During Presidential Primary Elections

A senior official at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said CISA did not receive reports of any malicious cyber activity seeking to disrupt the 2020 presidential primary elections in 14 states, The Hill reported Tuesday.

The same official at the Department of Homeland Security’s CISA noted that the agency had observed “low level” and “constant” misinformation on social media but did not see an increase in such activity related to Super Tuesday.

The official added that all election systems resumed normal operations amid some reports of “sporadic” information technology concerns.

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Scott Rose on NIST’s Draft Zero Trust Guidance
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Scott Rose on NIST’s Draft Zero Trust Guidance

Scott Rose on NIST’s Draft Zero Trust Guidance

Scott Rose, a computer scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, told Federal News Network in an interview posted Tuesday that NIST’s Zero Trust Architecture Special Publication 800-207 seeks to help agencies and cyber experts come up with a “conceptual framework” to adopt zero trust principles within their network infrastructure and operations.

“Think of it as a set of principles in which to kind of generate a set of architecture and operations, which then become your zero trust architecture. And then when you execute that architecture and actually start building to it, you could say you are building a zero trust enterprise,” Rose said on the network’s Federal Monthly Insights – Zero Trust Month.

Rose stated that the NIST publication provides a series of models and approaches to develop an abstract map for zero trust architecture and offers examples of the connection between zero trust and current federal policies.

NIST issued the zero trust guidance’s initial draft last fall and then added a new subsection to the document. The agency will accept public comments on the revised draft guidance through March 13.

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Sean Connelly: Trusted Internet Connection Program Office Eyes Final TIC 3.0 Guidance by Spring
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Sean Connelly: Trusted Internet Connection Program Office Eyes Final TIC 3.0 Guidance by Spring
Sean Connelly: Trusted Internet Connection Program Office Eyes Final TIC 3.0 Guidance by Spring

Sean Connelly, Trusted Internet Connection program manager, said his office plans to have the final guidance for the TIC 3.0 policy and the first two use cases ready by spring, Nextgov reported Tuesday.

After the final guidance’s release, Connelly said his office will shift its focus on issuing individual use cases. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will set its sights on remote user and cloud service use cases, which were cited in the Office of Management and Budget’s memo in September 2019.

“Ultimately, there are a number of other use cases that we’re on the hook for: the Infrastructure-as-a-Service use case, the [Platform-as-a-Service], [Software-as-a-Service] use case, Email-as-a-Service and also the remote user. Those are the alternative use cases that are already embedded in the OMB memo,” said Connelly, who is also senior cybersecurity architect at CISA’s office of the chief technology officer.

Connelly said agencies such as the Department of Energy and the Small Business Administration have begun piloting some additional use cases.

“Our expectation is we’ll release the first two use cases—the traditional TIC and the remote office—with this final release,” he said. “Then, soon after, we’ll start, hopefully, being able to map some of those pilots we’re working with in the background to build out those use cases.”

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DHS Unveils Third Biometric Tech Competition
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DHS Unveils Third Biometric Tech Competition
DHS Unveils Third Biometric Tech Competition

The Department of Homeland Security's science and technology directorate has started to accept applications for an annual challenge that seeks to encourage industry in building biometric recognition technologies for security checkpoints.

The 2020 Biometric Technology Rally will task the participants to develop capacities that will validate small, free-flowing groups in crowded areas, DHS said Monday.

Participants will demonstrate their proposals in the individual phase in order to proceed to the group-processing stage. Cleared teams will participate in a demonstration event to showcase their technologies to stakeholders from the public and private sectors.

“Now it’s time to take the training wheels off and see how well these systems deal with more realistic conditions—identifying groups of people that opt-in to using the system, while avoiding bystanders in a crowded environment who have not opted-in," said Arun Vemury, director at DHS S&T's Biometric and Identity Technology Center.

DHS will deliver feedback to industry participants and help speed up the development of product capabilities through the results of the challenge.

Interested organizations have until April 30 to submit their applications to the challenge.

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GAO: Agencies Must Ensure Accuracy in Reporting Improper Payments
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GAO: Agencies Must Ensure Accuracy in Reporting Improper Payments
GAO: Agencies Must Ensure Accuracy in Reporting Improper Payments

The Government Accountability Office has found that federal agencies need to improve their estimates of improper payments which totaled $175 billion last fiscal year.

GAO said in a report published Monday that improper payments are those that “should not have been made or were made in the incorrect amount” for federal programs. The total amount for improper payments in fiscal year 2018 was $151 billion.

According to GAO, $121 billion or 69 percent of the FY19 figure represented Medicare, Medicaid and earned income tax credit payments.

The watchdog noted that “incomplete, unreliable, or understated agency estimates” prevented federal agencies from understanding the full scope of improper payments in compliance with the 2010 Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act.

Inspector general reports for FY18 stated that agencies designated as noncompliant with IPERA were unable to publish and meet annual targets for reducing improper payments.

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Navy Looks to Deploy Integrated C2 Operations Framework for Cyber Defense
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Navy Looks to Deploy Integrated C2 Operations Framework for Cyber Defense

Navy Looks to Deploy Integrated C2 Operations Framework for Cyber Defense

The U.S. Navy plans to implement a command-and-control system framework to further develop the service’s governance of its network architecture and improve visibility in cyberspace operations, C4ISRnet reported Monday.

Manuel Hermosilla, executive director of 10th Fleet/Fleet Cyber Command, said during the WEST 2020 event in San Diego, Calif., that the Integrated Navy Operations Command and Control System will serve as a “system of systems” approach that will help drive the Navy’s digital platform transformation efforts.

Hermosilla noted that his office plans to deploy best practices in “operation system support” to better monitor network performance, implement automation and provide a holistic view of enterprise networks.

He added that the Navy intends to initially deploy INOCCS for activities under the Department of Defense Information Network as well as cyber defense operations.

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OPM, NASA Collab for Future Astronaut Selection
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OPM, NASA Collab for Future Astronaut Selection
OPM, NASA Collab for Future Astronaut Selection

The Office of Personnel Management and NASA have jointly produced tools designed to facilitate the formation of future astronaut rosters.

OPM said Monday it worked with the space agency to construct a new approach to assess applications of potential astronauts for the Artemis program.

"With OPM’s support putting these new tools in place for the application process, we will be able to efficiently identify the top candidates who may someday explore the Moon and Mars,” said Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator.

The tools leverage OPM’s USA Staffing system to automate the application process. The process also uses an online assessment battery co-developed by OPM and NASA.

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CBP Releases Assessment Updates on Geospatial Tech for Border Security Operations
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CBP Releases Assessment Updates on Geospatial Tech for Border Security Operations
CBP Releases Assessment Updates on Geospatial Tech for Border Security Operations

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued updates in its privacy impact assessment of a geospatial imaging tool built to provide information such as land ownership limits at the southern border.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a document that the Enterprise Geospatial Information Services platform collects mapping information and other data to monitor operations along the U.S. border. The web-based eGIS application also visualizes current and historical information from DHS source systems for situational awareness purposes.

According to the notice, Border Patrol deploys the technology for surveillance and interdiction functions to secure against threats at various points of entry.

DHS noted that it seeks to evaluate CBP’s use of landowner parcel and contact information, which are meant to inform the procurement and installation of assets such as command-and-control systems, sensors and relay towers.

The department said that information collated from eGIS will serve as records that “can be obtained or accessed from public sources”.

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Bechtel, Sempra Energy Announce EPC Contract for Liquefaction Project; Jeffrey Martin, Brendan Bechtel Quoted
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Bechtel, Sempra Energy Announce EPC Contract for Liquefaction Project; Jeffrey Martin, Brendan Bechtel Quoted
Bechtel, Sempra Energy Announce EPC Contract for Liquefaction Project; Jeffrey Martin, Brendan Bechtel Quoted

Bechtel and Sempra Energy have signed a fixed-price engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the Port Arthur LNG liquefaction project under development in Port Arthur, Texas, the company announced on Tuesday.

"Building new export infrastructure in the U.S. is critical to providing overseas markets with cleaner fuel alternatives," said Jeffrey W. Martin, chairman and CEO of Sempra Energy. "Partnering with a world-class construction firm like Bechtel bolsters our execution plan for one of the world's largest LNG development projects."

Under the EPC contract, Bechtel’s oil, gas and chemical division will support the Liquefaction project by providing engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, startup, performance tests as well as operator training activities. The contract also requires Bechtel to perform pre-final investment decision engineering to assure cost and schedule.

The Port Arthur LNG development project will include two liquefaction trains, two liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tanks, a marine berth and associated loading facilities and related infrastructure necessary to provide liquefaction services, with a nameplate capacity of approximately 13.5 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of LNG. 

Sempra’s site includes 3,000 acres of land, three miles of the Sabine-Neches waterway and has the potential to become one of the largest LNG export projects in North America, with expansion capabilities of up to eight liquefaction trains and approximately 45 Mtpa of capacity.

The companies have estimated that, after the completion of the project, 5,000 construction jobs, as well as several hundred additional Texas jobs will be created. In addition, approximately 200 long-term jobs will open to operate and maintain the Port Arthur LNG facility.

"We are honored and grateful that Sempra has chosen Bechtel as their trusted partner to help grow Sempra's LNG business on the Gulf Coast. Together, we will deliver an important, clean and sustainable energy source to the world while creating jobs and building economic opportunities for the Gulf Coast community," Bechtel's chairman and CEO Brendan Bechtel said.

About Bechtel

Bechtel is a trusted engineering, construction and project management partner to industry and government. Differentiated by the quality of its people and a relentless drive to deliver the most successful outcomes, Bechtel aligns its capabilities to customers' objectives to create a lasting positive impact. 

Since 1898, Bechtel has helped customers complete more than 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven continents that have created jobs, grown economies, improved the resilience of the world's infrastructure, increased access to energy, resources, and vital services, and made the world a safer, cleaner place.

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