The General Services Administration’s Office of the inspector general released a report on Friday stating that the GSA Federal Acquisition Service’s ineffective contract oversight led to issues in the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions transition effort.

The IG said that FAS failed to ensure that the Transition Ordering Assistance task order met the requirements for the EIS information technology modernization initiative, resulting in “high rates of spending with minimal transition progress.” Other findings include deficiencies in planning and management, invoicing and contractor performance assessments.

“These deficiencies likely contributed to the need to extend the transition deadline, resulting in missed cost savings and repeating similar problems from the prior telecommunications transition,” according to the report.

The IG recommends the FAS commissioner establish metrics for work completion in line with budget concerns, create standard operating procedures for performance assessments, implement interagency agreements, determine the need for task order modifications, seek monetary recoveries for unsatisfactory contractor performance and implement standardized invoicing procedures.

In support of NASA, Jacobs has completed a full-stress flight test of the Orion spacecraft’s Launch Abort System (LAS) amd verified that the system can steer the spacecraft and astronauts aboard to safety in an emergency, the company reported Tuesday.

The flight test, Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) was a critical step to demonstrate Orion’s safety and continue to develop the next steps of human exploration in space. The successful completion of AA-2 will pave the way for NASA’s Artemis 1 mission, the first uncrewed flight of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket with the Orion crew capsule.

The Jacobs team played a crucial role in every project phase of AA-2 across five centers of NASA including design, development, integration of crucial avionics and data collection systems, final launch processing and integration and launch operations. Jacobs will also play a major role in the full analysis of launch and test data captured from sensors and instruments for the mission.

“As NASA’s largest services provider, we collaborate internally and partner with NASA to deliver mission-tailored solutions that enable safe exploration of the Moon and beyond,” said Steve Arnette, the senior vice president of Jacobs’ Aerospace, Technology and Nuclear sector.

“Delivering full lifecycle aerospace capabilities across multiple NASA centers allows Jacobs to be integrally involved in supporting NASA’s aggressive deep space exploration objectives.”

About Jacobs 

Jacobs leads the global professional services sector delivering solutions for a more connected, sustainable world. With approximately $12 billion in revenue and a talent force of more than 50,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of services including scientific, technical, professional and construction- and program-management for business, industrial, commercial, government and infrastructure sectors.

Maxar Technologies announced on Tuesday that the company is teaming with the West Virginia Robotic Technology Center (WVRTC) to build and fly “Dragonfly,” a trail-blazing robotic in-space assembly system, and support a wide variety of innovative capabilities contributing to science, exploration and commercial development.

Maxar proposed that the first “Dragonfly” system on NASA’s Restore-L in 2022 to demonstrate technologies for refueling a satellite in low Earth orbit. The company is building the spacecraft bus for Restore-L, which is based on its tried-and-true 1300-class platform, as well as two nimble robotic arms. On Restore-L, Dragonfly would assemble seven individual antenna reflector components into one large antenna reflector – similar to putting together a puzzle.

“We’re grateful for the support of Senators Capito and Manchin, Congressman McKinley, and Administrator Bridenstine for ensuring that America continues to excel in the field of space-based robotics through work conducted here in West Virginia,” said Mike Gold, Maxar’s vice president of Civil Space.

In-space assembly has the potential to revolutionize the way satellites and other space infrastructure are built and launched, while enabling highly dexterous capabilities for future space architectures and exploration missions.

With Dragonfly, large structures such as space-based telescopes, satellites, and spacecraft will no longer be confined by the volume limitations of rocket fairings, and instead could rely entirely on robotics for initial assembly, recurring maintenance, reconfiguration and payload upgrades.

Maxar will also play a key role in the mission to land on the Moon by 2024.

About Maxar Technologies

Maxar Technologies is a trusted partner and innovator in Earth intelligence and space infrastructure that provides cutting-edge solutions that focus on customer needs first, while bending the curve on costs, timeframes and returns.

We are a leading global provider of advanced space-based technology solutions, delivering unmatched integrated capabilities in Earth imagery, geospatial data, analytics & insights, satellites and robotics. The world’s foremost governments and businesses trust us to solve their most mission-critical challenges with confidence.

Mark Beall, chief of strategic engagement and policy at the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, said DoD needs to work with industry to advance the use of AI, C4ISRNET reported Monday. 

“AI is not necessarily of core prominence in our organization, so, as a result, we need to begin to look externally to industry to teach us how to use this technology and use it responsibly,” Beall said Wednesday at the AI World Government Conference. He explained the Pentagon’s decision to start with an AI strategy and the need for the department to change its culture by treating data as a strategic asset. 

“In this rush to adopt AI, obviously as you guys know, it’s not just AI,” Beall said at the event. “There’s this cultural change that has to happen and I think that kind of revolves in the first instance around the way we treat our data.”