Ken Bowersox, acting associate administrator for NASA’s human exploration and operations division, has said that the agency is working on a “very aggressive” schedule for the Space Launch System, Space News reported Friday. SLS is a super heavy-lift launch vehicle intended to send the uncrewed Orion spacecraft to the moon as part of NASA’s Artemis-1 mission.

Bowersox told attendees duiring a presenattion in Las Cruces, N.M. that it’s likely for NASA’s projected 2020 launch to be delayed depending on the results of further integration and static-fire tests.

“We have a chance to actually have a rocket on the pad and launch by the end of next year,” he said. “But when you start throwing all those different uncertainties, it’s more likely that we will move out into 2021.”

In September, NASA finished integrating the launch’ vehicle’s components intended to support its core stage. Boeing and Aerojet Rocketdyne will work with NASA for further integration activities.

According to Bowersox, an official decision on a new launch date will not be issued until a new associate administrator for human exploration and operations is appointed.

The National Security Agency has formed a new group within its cybersecurity directorate to help predict and identify cyber vulnerabilities in commercial cyber platforms and help the technoloy industry improve the security of their products, Defense One reported Friday.

The new futures and standards group at NSA will also provide companies and customers recommendations to facilitate the safe use of products.

“Our role is taking the insights we have…whether it’s 5G, whether it’s quantum system crypto, whether it’s distributed ledger, and trying to work to ensure those products are built more secure. And we give advice to users who need different levels of security,” said Anne Neuberger, director of the cybersecurity directorate.

Neal Ziring, technical director at the directorate, said the futures and standards group will look at security concerns related to Chinese-made 5G equipment and advance collaboration with the tech industry before faulty platforms become widely adopted.

“Futures and Standards is going to look out a little ahead of today’s threats…look what’s coming down the pike, what sort of risks [a new technology or architecture] might engender, what sort of security improvements might be made to it, and then work with entities that might help effect those changes, usually industry, but sometimes standards bodies, to try and make sure that some of those security improvements are in there before that technology becomes widespread,” Ziring said.

The U.S. Marine Corps demonstrated integrated operation between its radar systems and technology based on an Israeli air defense platform in August, Marine Corps Times reported Thursday.

The Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar or G/ATOR performed alongside SkyHunter, a Raytheon-made air defense system based on Israel’s Iron Dome technology.

Barb Hamby, a USMC spokesperson, said the service branch demonstrated its systems’ joint operation with other technologies during a live-fire exercise.

USMC has not confirmed the exact names of the tested systems, but Hamby’s previous statements suggests involvement of G/ATOR and Iron Dome components, the report noted.

Raytheon worked with Israel-based Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to develop Iron Dome, a system that detects and intercepts shorter-range missile threats. The two firms then produced SkyHunter as an Iron Dome variant tailored for U.S. customers and allies.

The U.S. Army also awarded a contract to the companies in August for Iron Dome weapon systems.