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NASA Completes Laser Communications Demo, Sets New World Records
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NASA Completes Laser Communications Demo, Sets New World Records

NASA has concluded the TeraByte InfraRed Delivery demonstration setting new world records for the fastest satellite downlink from space.

The agency said Wednesday the TBIRD, onboard the Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-3 spacecraft, used laser communications instead of radio frequency communication systems in transmitting data from space to Earth resulting in record-setting benchmarks.

The project sought to determine the potential of laser communications, which utilize infrared light, in data transmission. Within the two years of the mission, there was a significant increase in data sent through a single communications link.

In 2023, the TBIRD managed to transmit 4.8 terabytes of error-free data at a rate of 200 gigabits per second, eclipsing the old record of 100 Gbps set in June 2022.

The PTD-3 was launched in May 2022 and, once it reached low-Earth orbit, the TBIRD started sending laser communications signals to an optical ground station in Table Mountain, California.

In addition, the mission set the record for the highest accuracy by a NASA CubeSat in “body pointing” without relying on any moving parts or propulsion systems. The PTD-3/TBIRD system also proved its small, lightweight, cost-effective and power-efficient design was suitable for such space missions.

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Office of Space Commerce Taps Industry Collaborators for TraCSS Pathfinder Project
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Office of Space Commerce Taps Industry Collaborators for TraCSS Pathfinder Project

The Office of Space Commerce has named the commercial partners that accepted orders for space situational awareness services as part of the Traffic Coordination System for Space, or TraCSS, pathfinder project.

The OSC said Wednesday the companies that agreed to provide SSA data in low Earth orbit and geostationary Earth orbit are COMSPOC, ExoAnalytic Solutions and Slingshot Aerospace. Orders to serve as data quality monitors for LEO and GEO observations were accepted by Kayhan Space and SpaceNav.

The project aims to determine if satellite positions and trajectory data, or ephemeris, based on self-reported information gathered by satellite owners/operators are effective in tracking satellites more accurately. This is necessary to prevent possible satellite collisions.

The OSC will use the results of the pathfinder project to enhance the TraCSS system.

New Center Debuts to Drive Semiconductor Industry Workforce Development
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New Center Debuts to Drive Semiconductor Industry Workforce Development

The Department of Commerce has launched the National Semiconductor Technology Center’s Workforce Center of Excellence, or WCoE, and has allocated $250 million over 10 years for the WCoE mission to fill workforce gaps in the U.S. chip manufacturing industry through collaborative and innovative approaches. 

WCoE will pursue its goal through joint efforts with stakeholders in the government, private industry, academia, non-profits and labor organizations, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. 

As part of the WCoE launch, the nonprofit Natcast overseeing the NSTC consortium established by the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, announced over $11 million in expected funding awards to seven semiconductor workforce development projects.

The projects, funded through the NSTC’s Workforce Partner Alliance program, are geared toward career growth and experiential training under the WCoE’s amplifier program, one of the center’s inaugural focus areas. Over 12,000 individuals are expected to benefit from the projects that would prepare them for long-term careers in the semiconductor industry. 

The first batch of funding awardees are the American Federation of Teachers Educational Foundation, Idaho Technology Council, Maricopa County Community College District, Rochester Institute of Technology, Texas A&M University, University of California–Los Angeles and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

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Carnegie Mellon Receives NIST Grant for New AI Research Center
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Carnegie Mellon Receives NIST Grant for New AI Research Center

Carnegie Mellon University has been awarded a $6 million grant by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish a joint artificial intelligence research and experimentation center.

NIST said Tuesday the CMU/NIST AI Measurement Science & Engineering Cooperative Research Center will be located on the CMU campus in Pittsburgh and will conduct testing and evaluation of modern AI tools and capabilities.

The establishment of the research center is intended to boost advancements in AI risk management and evaluation by fostering stakeholder partnerships. The center will also focus on implementing the developed assessment capabilities and methodologies in real-world scenarios.

The grant was awarded through NIST’s Measurement Science and Engineering Research Grant Program.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, in announcing the grant, said, “Artificial intelligence is the defining technology of our generation, and at the Commerce Department we are committed to working with America’s world-class higher education institutions, like Carnegie Mellon University, to advance safe, secure and trustworthy development of AI.”

Undersecretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and director at NIST Director Laurie Locascio said, “This new cooperative research center will expand NIST’s knowledge base and fundamental research capacity in AI.”

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House Reps Introduce Legislation to Counter PRC Cyber Threat Against US Critical Infrastructure
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House Reps Introduce Legislation to Counter PRC Cyber Threat Against US Critical Infrastructure

Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., has introduced legislation titled “Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act,” which aims to counteract the increasing cybersecurity threat against U.S. critical infrastructure brought about by the Communist Party of China.

Under the proposed legislation, an interagency task force would be formed to address the threats posed by cyber actors linked to the People’s Republic of China, such as Volt Typhoon, according to a news article posted Tuesday on the House Committee on Homeland Security website.

The measure, which was co-sponsored by Reps. Mark Green, R-Tenn., and John Moolenaar, R-Mich., also mandates the task force to provide Congress with a classified report and briefing regarding its findings and recommendations concerning malicious cyber activity by the CCP. The report would have to be filed every year for five years.

The task force would be led by the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Commenting on the bill that she introduced, Lee said, “It is critical that the federal government implements a focused, coordinated, and whole-of-government response to all of Beijing’s cyber threats, so no other actors succeed.”

For his part, Green, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said, “Now is the time to address the threat China poses in cyberspace,” while Moolenaar, who chairs the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said, “I’m proud to co-sponsor this legislation alongside Rep. Laurel Lee that will help protect the American people.”

House Reps Introduce Legislation to Counter PRC Cyber Threat Against US Critical Infrastructure

Hear from various speakers to learn more about the various security concerns facing the U.S. and what’s being done to address them at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Homeland Security Summit, which will take place on Nov. 13. Register now to attend this important event!

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GAO Finds Inconsistencies in Contractor Performance Reporting Compliance
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GAO Finds Inconsistencies in Contractor Performance Reporting Compliance

Federal agencies are required to report contractor performance and conduct in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System, or FAPIIS, but some departments were found inconsistent in complying with the reporting obligation, the Government Accountability Office said.

An assessment focused on fiscal years 2019 to 2023 revealed that some agency personnel did not know or understand their reporting requirements, which were established to inform future contract award decisions, according to a GAO report published on Wednesday.

The government watchdog found that over the five-year period, 335 contract terminations and 52 administrative agreements were reported in other sources but not in FAPIIS, a database that provides information on previous government work of contractors.

The GAO study focused on the Departments of Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs and the General Services Administration.

The DOD said it had limited insight into why contractor integrity records were not reported in FAPIIS while the GSA pointed to gaps in its guidance and limited awareness of reporting requirements among personnel as reasons for underreporting.

Other agencies, meanwhile, cited various reasons for not reporting terminations and have since addressed them.

GAO made recommendations to resolve the issue, including directing the administrator of the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy to reiterate integrity reporting requirements and identify available resources to help ensure that agency personnel have the guidance needed to comprehensively report and verify the accuracy of integrity information.

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Chenega & CyberSheath Pass JVSA Validation With Perfect Score
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Chenega & CyberSheath Pass JVSA Validation With Perfect Score

Chenega Corporation has collaborated with CyberSheath to pass a Joint Surveillance Voluntary Assessment—or JSVA—validation with a perfect score of 110.

To successfully pass the JSVA, Chenega used CyberSheath’s fully managed federal enclave, which ultimately aligned with NIST 800-171 protocols needed for protecting controlled unclassified information within the defense supply chain, the Reston, Virginia-based company announced Monday.

Eric Noonan, CEO of CyberSheath Services International, said, “Our federal enclave solution is designed to take the complexity out of compliance for our clients.”

“Chenega’s perfect JSVA score demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach in ensuring CMMC readiness and maintaining ongoing compliance with the DOD. Chenega’s commitment to compliance before the rest of the DIB exemplifies why it has long been considered a leader in government contracting,” Noonan added.

The JVSA is a vital part of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification 2.0 framework, which will begin in early 2025 and become a requirement for contracting with the Department of Defense.

Kevin Gustin, senior director of Information Security at Chenega Corporation, said the perfect JVSA score is a testament to the work the companies have done together over the past two years. 

“This success strengthens our position as a trusted partner in the federal contracting space and provides peace of mind with CMMC 2.0 implementation on the horizon,” Gustin said.

According to a study conducted by Merrill Research, contractors earned an average score of -15 against the 110 paradigm on last year’s JVSA.

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Army Opting for More Agile Approach to Software Procurement
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Army Opting for More Agile Approach to Software Procurement

The U.S. Army is working to apply agile principles not only to software development but also to its software acquisition process, citing the need for a contract vehicle that could enable it to procure software offerings from industry, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

Doug Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, highlighted the need for a contract vehicle that could help the service branch speed up the award process.

“The first goal is speed. Having a vehicle established will allow us to go faster on task orders than doing a de-novo contract in every case, which I think is better for industry,” Bush said.

“What we’ve seen without this approach is that all of our program executive offices have to do their own separate competitions for different software development, each a little bit different way, and it’s just — we hope — more efficient to have a vehicle they can use to go faster,” he added.

According to FNN, the Army is developing a request for proposals for a potential 10-year, $1 billion indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for software procurement with contract types determined at the task order level.

“Every contract needs to be tailored to the task, and it’s not a simple world of cost-plus versus fixed-price,” Bush noted.

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DOD Seeks Feedback on Proposed Rule on Cost, Pricing Data Requirements
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DOD Seeks Feedback on Proposed Rule on Cost, Pricing Data Requirements

The Department of Defense has proposed a rule to apply sections of the National Defense Authorization Acts for fiscal years 2018, 2021 and 2022 to effectively update the cost or pricing data submission requirements for contractors.

According to a Federal Register notice published Thursday, DOD proposed the rule as an amendment to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement.

Upon the request of a contracting officer, a section in the FY 2018 NDAA requires offerors to submit data other than certified cost or pricing data.

A section of the FY 2021 NDAA sets a $2 million threshold for TINA requirements, also known as the Truthful Cost or Pricing Data statute, regarding modifications to contracts or subcontracts.

Meanwhile, a section in the FY 2022 defense authorization measure directs contracting officers to modify contracts to reflect the relevant TINA threshold as necessary.

According to DOD, the proposed rule will help foster efficiency and reduce costs related to administering contracts by implementing a uniform TINA threshold and provide government contracting officers with the ability to collect data other than certified pricing or cost data for contract modifications.

The department also noted that raising the TINA threshold for subcontracts and contract modifications could benefit small businesses by reducing the overall number of contracts to which TINA requirements apply.

Comments on the proposed rule are due Nov. 25.

Congress-Cleared CR to Extend Federal Funding for 3 Months
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Congress-Cleared CR to Extend Federal Funding for 3 Months

A stopgap funding measure is now headed to the White House for President Joe Biden’s signature after Congress passed the bill to avert a government shutdown and extend federal funding through December, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

The Senate passed the continuing resolution in a 78-18 vote two hours after the House voted 341-82 to approve the legislation.

The CR, which seeks to extend federal funding through Dec. 20, does not include the White House’s request for an additional $2 billion for the construction of Virginia-class submarines and the Presidential Drawdown Authority’s extension to provide military assistance to Ukraine.

According to the report, the president is expected to sign the bill into law ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline.

“The passage of this bill gives Congress more time to pass full-year funding bills by the end of this year. My Administration will work with Congress to ensure these bills deliver for America’s national defense, veterans, seniors, children, and working families, and address urgent needs for the American people, including communities recovering from disasters,” Biden said in a statement published Wednesday.

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