Doug Loverro, NASA’s associate administrator for human exploration and operations, said the space agency essentially requires the Space Launch System to pursue the manned lunar mission planned for 2024, Space News reported Wednesday.

Loverro made this statement with Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator, against criticisms on SLS’ high sustainment costs compared to those of commercial launch vehicles.

An official from the Office of Management and Budget claimed that SLS would cost $2B per launch, compared to a commercial launch valued at one-fourth the amount.

Loverro said he does not see SLS as a competitive effort against commercial vehicles, noting that NASA needs every launch opportunity available from the country. Bridenstine also noted that OMB’s $2B estimate far exceeds his projection on the SLS rocket’s cost per launch.

“I think at the end, we’re going to be at the $800M to $900M range,” Bridenstine said and added that his estimates are also unsure as the SLS production contract had just begun.

NASA seeks to revive manned lunar exploration via the Artemis program, with SLS serving as a major component for the effort.

Adm. Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations, has issued his first planning guidance for maintaining superiority in the maritime domain, Defense News reported Wednesday.

His guidance’s lines of effort are divided into warfighting, warfighters and future Navy subheads and the first priority focuses on improving ship maintenance and advancing modernization to achieve readiness.

The document calls for Naval Sea Systems Command to come up with a plan within 60 days on how to sustain and improve the maintenance industrial base as well as achieve an 80 percent reduction in days spent on depot maintenance extensions in 2020.

The guidance directs Fleet Forces Command to ensure the Optimized Fleet Response Plan offers adequate forces to meet requirements for deployment and enough time in maintenance and asks the command to respond by January.

Other key takeaways from the document are the Navy’s warfighting goals, the push for more advanced training, deployment of Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines and the focus on electronic warfare and directed energy to defend ships and reduce cost.

Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) sent letters to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Federal Trade Commission and five health care companies requesting information on measures they implement to address bias in algorithms.

The letters were issued after a study in the journal Science found racial bias in an algorithm, Wyden’s office said in a news release published Tuesday.

The lawmakers posed questions to FTC Chairman Joseph Simons and CMS Administrator Seema Verma about the actions they have taken to address the impact of algorithmic biases on health disparities, engagement with other federal agencies and external stakeholders regarding algorithmic biases and enforcement tools used to address such bias.

Booker and Wyden also sent letters to executives of Aetna, Humana, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna and UnitedHealth Group asking details about the algorithms their firms use to enhance patient care as well as implemented measures to prevent bias.

U.S. officials said the Trump administration considers deploying 14,000 more troops, additional ships and other military hardware to the Middle East to counter the threat posed by Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The U.S. military buildup in the Middle East started in May driven by a series of attacks in the region linked to Iran and officials said President Trump is expected to decide on the new deployments as early as December.

The report said the additional troops could double the number of service personnel sent to the region since May and could serve as a deterrent against Iran’s possible retaliation for economic sanctions imposed by the administration.

John Rood, senior policy official at the Department of Defense, said although no decision has been made on the expanded deployment, the situation is expected to stay fluid. “Deterrence is dynamic, our response is going to be dynamic,” he added.