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Senators Want to Advance US Leadership in Space Exploration
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Senators Want to Advance US Leadership in Space Exploration

Members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation have introduced the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025, which aims to prioritize the space agency’s programs and advance U.S. leadership in deep space exploration.

Sponsored by Democratic and Republican senators, the bill intends to support NASA’s science and exploration missions that would lead to new space discoveries, the Senate panel said Tuesday. The proposal also seeks to prevent a gap in low Earth orbit leadership and uphold scientific ingenuity in the United States.

Refocusing NASA’s Core Priorities

According to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the committee chairman, the bipartisan bill will allow the space industry to flourish, establish a U.S.-led LEO economy and ensure the country will return to the Moon and land first on Mars. “I am committed to refocusing NASA’s efforts on its core priorities—championing space exploration and ensuring American leadership in the final frontier,” he stressed.

The measure would provide programmatic continuity to NASA, protect its independence and deliver the needed funding to ensure the space agency’s mission success, according to Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. “The brilliant minds at NASA deserve our continued, bipartisan support as they work to maintain America’s global leadership in space exploration,” she added.

Strengthening Human Space Exploration

If enacted into law, the Act would advance the development of the next generation of spacesuits, promote private partnerships to strengthen human space exploration, fund physical science research to ensure that humans can safely explore deep space and protect Earth from asteroids and other near-Earth objects through NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office.

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Gen. Michael Guetlein Appeals for More Space Force Resources
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Gen. Michael Guetlein Appeals for More Space Force Resources

U.S. Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein appeared on March 12 before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support to discuss the challenges the military service is facing as it works to fulfill its mission of protecting U.S. interests in space.

More Resources Needed

Guetlein told lawmakers during the hearing that though guardians are performing well and the Space Force is striving to transform into a warfighting service, more resources are needed in order to address the increasingly complex strategic situation in space, which demands capability innovations and faster adaptions, according to a news article posted Wednesday on the U.S. Air Force website.

“I have observed our adversaries’ actions, and they are employing new capabilities to counter our advantage. Our competitors are jamming GPS signals, spoofing and disrupting satellite communications, and developing advanced anti-satellite weapons. Unfortunately, these behaviors have become the norm rather than the exception, creating an increasingly hostile environment and putting at risk our continued freedom in the space domain,” Guetlein said.

Budget Extension

The 2025 Wash100 Award winner also said that having to operate under an extension of the previous fiscal year’s budget would be detrimental to the Space Force’s efforts, noting that his organization is “the smallest force with the smallest budget” and so “any churn in our budget is a huge hit to us.”

A continuing resolution, like the one passed by the House of Representatives on March 11 to keep the government open through Sept. 30, would also prohibit the funding of new capability acquisitions, which, according to Guetlein, makes it difficult to counter emerging threats.

“We need budget flexibility for new start authority, (and) the ability to move money between programs would be hugely beneficial,” the Space Force official said.

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Cybersecurity Exec Sean Plankey Nominated to Lead CISA
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Cybersecurity Exec Sean Plankey Nominated to Lead CISA

President Donald Trump has nominated Sean Plankey, former director for cyber policy at the National Security Council, to serve as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

The White House announced Plankey’s nomination in a post published Tuesday.

Sean Plankey’s Career Background

According to his LinkedIn profile, Plankey most recently served as general manager of Indigo Vault and global head of cybersecurity software at WTW.

The former U.S. Coast Guard officer served as head of cyber policy at NSC during Trump’s first term.

His government career included time as principal deputy assistant secretary for cybersecurity, energy security and emergency response at the Department of Energy and weapons and tactics branch chief within U.S. Cyber Command.

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduate previously served as public sector chief technology officer at DataRobot and chief architect for critical infrastructure at BedRock Systems.

Plankey also worked as a global cyber intelligence adviser at BP and as a strategic adviser at Option3 and CLASS zero3.

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Karl Mueller Named Director of Ames National Laboratory
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Karl Mueller Named Director of Ames National Laboratory

Karl Mueller has been selected as the new director of the Ames National Laboratory, which is part of the Department of Energy.

The Iowa State University-operated national laboratory said Tuesday Mueller’s appointment will officially commence on June 1. He succeeds Adam Schwartz, who is set to resign after serving as director since 2014.

Who Is Karl Mueller?

Mueller is a former chemistry professor who joined the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in 2010. He held several leadership roles during his 15-year stint at PNNL, most recently as the director of the Program Development Office of the Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, or PCSD.

He also served as the chief science and technology officer for PCSD for almost five years. In this role, he spearheaded a science and technology strategy for the directorate with a focus on bolstering the PNNL’s reputation and facilitating global technical integration.

Mueller initially served as the lead scientist for magnetic resonance for five years. He led research centered on applying high-resolution solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, or NMR, to study catalytic systems, battery materials and radionuclide transport under geochemical conditions.

Mueller started his career in academia in 1993 and spent almost 24 years at Penn State University teaching chemistry. 

“For more than 75 years, Iowa State University has operated the Ames National Laboratory, producing scientific breakthroughs that have shaped history and addressed society’s most pressing challenges,” said ISU President Wendy Wintersteen. “I am confident Dr. Mueller is the right person to advance this legacy of excellence.”

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Army Unveils 2nd Version of Unified Network Plan
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Army Unveils 2nd Version of Unified Network Plan

The U.S. Army has released the second iteration of its Army Unified Network Plan, or AUNP.

In a LinkedIn post published Tuesday, the military branch said AUNP 2.0 will focus on the plan’s second and third phases: operationalizing and modernizing the unified network.

Published in 2021, the first AUNP focused on “unifying the network,” providing a roadmap for converging the service’s tactical and enterprise networks across common systems, standards and security to boost integration and reduce complexity across the force.

“AUNP 2.0 is new guidance on how the warfighter actually approaches, accelerates and operationalizes the unified network across the board,” said Lt. Gen. Jeth Rey, the Army’s deputy chief of staff, G-6.

“It’s going to enable multi-domain operations and chart the roadmap of where we’re going for the unified network by 2027. It also talks about the critical enablers required to achieve a multi-domain operational Army by 2030,” Rey added.

5 Lines of Effort

AUNP 2.0 prepares the military for data centricity through the integration of zero trust principles and retains the five lines of effort critical to shaping the future Army: establish the unified network; posture the force to support multidomain operations, or MDO; security and survivability based on zero trust principles; transform the Army’s unified network investments, policy and governance; and continuously improve the unified network.

Key AUNP 2.0 Principles

The second version of the AUNP 2.0 framework covers key principles, including integrating zero trust and data centricity; eliminating IT complexity at the edge; centralizing IT service delivery and resourcing; and establishing and employing common standards, processes and systems.

Other principles are driving warfighter priorities for command and control in support of MDO and denied, disrupted, intermittent and limited bandwidth, or DDIL, environments; enabling faster, secure data-sharing with partners, allies and across security domains; and developing concepts of operation and validated operational requirements at echelon.

Operationalize the Unified Network, 2024-2026

According to the document, Phase II kicked off in fiscal year 2024, focusing on modernization initiatives to maximize the centralized delivery of services and access to the unified network.

Primary efforts include completing the operations construct for the Army’s portion of the Department of Defense Information Network; modernizing and implementing the branch’s hybrid compute capability in support of tactical formations in DDIL environments; establishing a persistent Mission Partner Environment and associated funding strategy; and optimizing the service’s network capability to enable data-centric warfighting.

Continuously Modernize the Unified Network, 2027 & Beyond

Phase III starts with a unified network based on zero trust postured to back MDO.

Key efforts in this phase include the full implementation of a holistic approach to modernize the unified network over time, final integration of zero trust architecture and continued integration with the joint or coalition force and mission partners.

According to the plan, several emerging technologies shape this phase, including data-centric data management platforms, robotics and autonomous operations, and quantum-resistant encryption and technologies.

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Jane Rathbun on Advancing Cyber-Secure Innovation
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Jane Rathbun on Advancing Cyber-Secure Innovation

Jane Rathbun, chief information officer of the Department of the Navy and a two-time Wash100 awardee, said cybersecurity should be a top priority when it comes to advancing innovation, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

That means baking zero trust principles into every aspect of capability development.

“We have to really think about innovation with cyber operations in mind when we talk about future capabilities. I constantly say we have the warfighter requirement. And part of that warfighter requirement is the cyber operators’ requirement. If they cannot command and control the space, we are not secure. You are not secure,” Rathbun told FNN.

Reassessing Capability Development Process

The 2025 Wash100 awardee said she believes the process of developing and rapidly delivering secure capabilities to warfighters needs to be reassessed. 

When it comes to developing capabilities, Rathbun cited the need for the operator, acquirer, industry partners and other stakeholders to be involved right from the start of the process.

“In the future, I think everybody needs to be in the same car. The operator … the acquirer, the resource sponsor, the requirements representative of the operator and the industry partner that’s working with us. You’ve got to be all in the car upfront at the beginning,” the CIO noted. “We cannot do it in a linear fashion. We won’t get there fast enough in this space and we will potentially leave you hanging.”

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New GAO Report Tackles Risks & Challenges in Federal IT Acquisition Programs
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New GAO Report Tackles Risks & Challenges in Federal IT Acquisition Programs

The Government Accountability Office has released a report profiling 16 ongoing IT acquisition programs deemed critical to the mission of the agencies implementing them.

Need for IT Acquisition Oversight

The report was prepared in response to a request by Congress and as part of a broader effort to ensure the implementation of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, which seeks to enhance agency investments in IT by promoting better planning and management, according to the report, which GAO issued on Tuesday.

Federal IT acquisitions have been seen to cost more than initially projected and take longer to implement while producing systems that fail to perform, causing the GAO to place IT acquisition and management under its High Risk List and resulting in the need for greater monitoring and oversight.

IT Acquisition Challenges & Risks

The 16 acquisition efforts profiled in the report were selected based on a survey of the 24 Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990-covered agencies, which were asked to identify their top three ongoing mission-critical IT acquisitions. The profiled acquisitions include the Department of Defense’s Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability program, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ electronic health record modernization program, the Department of State’s Consular Systems Modernization program and the Small Business Administration’s MySBA Platform program.

Of the 16 programs, seven were found to be facing significant cybersecurity and information privacy risks, which escalate over time as existing infrastructure age and cyber threats become more complex. Ten were also deemed to potentially jeopardize the agency’s mission should the acquisition not push through.

In total, the 16 programs are projected to cost at least $51.7 billion.

House Approves 6-Month Funding Bill to Prevent Government Shutdown
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House Approves 6-Month Funding Bill to Prevent Government Shutdown

The House of Representatives approved a six-month funding bill on Tuesday to prevent a partial government shutdown at the end of the week.

The stopgap legislation will provide funds for federal agencies until the end of September, the Epoch Times reported Tuesday.

The vote tallied 217-213 with all Republicans, with the exception of Thomas Mackie, R-Ky, supporting the measure. Jared Golden, D-Maine, was the only Democrat to vote in favor of the bill.

Massie stressed that the bill would “fund the waste, fraud and abuse” highlighted by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Golden, meanwhile, emphasized that a government shutdown was worse than passing an imperfect bill.

“Even a brief shutdown would introduce even more chaos and uncertainty at a time when our country can ill-afford it,” the congressman said on X.

Next Steps for the Bill

The measure is now headed to the Senate, where it requires at least 60 votes to proceed to a final vote. Republicans will need at least eight Democrats to vote in favor of the bill and send it to President Donald Trump for his signature.

The legislation proposes a $6 billion increase in defense funding compared to last year while non-defense spending will be reduced by roughly $13 billion. It also boosts funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Vice President JD Vance and Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning to rally support for the measure.

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DLA Seeking AI-Powered Financial Management Service
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DLA Seeking AI-Powered Financial Management Service

The Defense Logistics Agency has started seeking feedback from the industry for innovative artificial intelligence-driven services capable of enhancing the agency’s financial reporting and audit processes.

Enhancing DLA Operations

According to the notice posted on SAM.gov Tuesday, DLA aims to boost the efficiency and accuracy of its operations by utilizing AI technology, particularly for auditing financial statements and making financial reports within the Department of Defense.

DLA aims to optimize operations, including the management of large volumes of data and complex financial reporting needs, by leveraging emerging technologies such as AI. The agency also intends to enhance its financial management activities by ensuring transparency and accountability and enabling data-driven decision-making.

The agency is seeking AI-based innovations that will enable it to streamline processes necessary for its yearly financial and control audits. Furthermore, DLA intends to address material weaknesses and personnel issues.

Interested parties can submit their solutions briefs by April 10.

Register and join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 AI Summit to learn strategic insights and actionable takeaways on artificial intelligence from government decision-makers and industry leaders.

https://potomacofficersclub.com/events/2025-artificial-intelligence-summit/?src=EJI&utm_source=site_gcd&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=DLARFI0312
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NIST Selects New Algorithm Standard for Post-Quantum Encryption
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NIST Selects New Algorithm Standard for Post-Quantum Encryption

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has selected the HQC algorithm for its ongoing efforts to develop a general encryption to address future cyberthreats from quantum computers.

HQC will serve as a backup defense for ML-KEM, a quantum-resistant algorithm earlier recognized as the recommended choice for general encryption, NIST said Tuesday. The two algorithms will safeguard stored information and data traveling across public networks.

Post-Quantum Encryption Systems

Dustin Moody, head of the Post-Quantum Cryptography project at NIST, noted that HQC is not a replacement for ML-KEM, adding that organizations should still migrate their encryption systems to the standards finalized in 2024. “As we advance our understanding of future quantum computers and adapt to emerging cryptanalysis techniques, it’s essential to have a fallback in case ML-KEM proves to be vulnerable,” he explained.

HQC as Backup Defense

According to NIST, HQC is built on a different math problem, which encryption systems use as a shield. While ML-KEM is based on mathematical idea called structured lattices, HQC is built around a concept known as error-correcting codes, which are used in information security.

Moody said HQC is a lengthier algorithm and requires more computing resources. He added that reviewers of the algorithm were impressed by its clean and secure operations, leading them to conclude that HQC is a robust second line of defense.

NIST will solicit public comments on a draft standard on HQC next year to advance its objective of finalizing the post-quantum encryption standard for a 2027 rollout.

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