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NASA Wants Commercial Contractor for ISS Robotic System
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NASA Wants Commercial Contractor for ISS Robotic System

NASA is soliciting proposals from private contractors capable of operating the International Space Station’s Astrobee robotic system. The solicitation seeks a commercial partner to run the system’s three cube-shaped robots, including their sustainment engineering and utilization, NASA said Thursday. 

The agency’s Announcement for Partnership Proposals for Astrobee’s operations, which was posted on SAM.gov, followed a NASA request for information issued in August on commercial capabilities for the robotic system.

Requirements of the Solicitation

NASA wants proposals from private contracts capable of providing ground-based testing, equipment and needed laboratory space. The agency seeks a partner who will take responsibility of the Astrobee system throughout the operational life of the ISS. Astrobee’s commercial operator will also set milestone objectives and ensure the system’s continuing technology development to support future commercial space initiatives. The deadline for proposal submissions is on March 21.  

Eugene Tu, director at NASA’s Ames Research Center, which led the Astrobee project, expressed excitement on a commercial partnership in the robot system. 

“Astrobee has been a beacon for robotic and autonomous research in space for many years, working with academia and industry partners across our country and internationally,” Tu noted.

Ground-Based Operational Control 

The ISS incorporated the Astrobee system in 2019, with its three free-flying robots — Bumble, Honey and Queen — working autonomously or managed by ground-based operators. It operates as one of the systems for routine ISS duties, such as documentation, to enable astronauts to focus on more complex work and experiments. 

In 2021, NASA tested the Integrated System for Autonomous and Adaptive Caretaking software on Bumble for flight navigation in the ISS and detected a simulated ventilation jam. Other experiments performed with the Astrobee robots have included testing mechanical adhesive technology and mapping the station.

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Chris Scolese on NRO’s Satellite Deployment Efforts & Ground Investments
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Chris Scolese on NRO’s Satellite Deployment Efforts & Ground Investments

Chris Scolese, director of the National Reconnaissance Office and a five-time Wash100 awardee, said the government and industry should leverage the potential of the architecture and other capabilities NRO has deployed in space and on the ground.

NRO said Wednesday Scolese made the call to action during the Intelligence and National Security Alliance Leadership Dinner.

Proliferated Satellite Constellation

During the event, the NRO director talked about the deployment of a proliferated network of more than 150 satellites and the agency’s move to expand the computing power of its ground systems to facilitate the collection of more data.

“Today, we have the data and the tools to help answer some of the toughest intelligence challenges of our time; to strengthen security, readiness, and lethality; and to effectively respond to disasters and humanitarian crises around the world,” Scolese told the audience.

The 2025 Wash100 awardee noted that NRO’s satellite architecture is strengthening observational persistence and shortening revisit times to bolster U.S. space-based intelligence capabilities.

Strengthening Partnerships

During the event, Scolese mentioned NRO’s investments in advanced computing, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, and ground systems to improve data processing and advance the development of dashboards and other tools. 

He also highlighted the importance of partnerships with key stakeholders to leverage the potential of the agency’s technological investments.

“The NRO is moving faster than ever before,” Scolese said. “It’s time for all of us to work together – government, industry, academia, allies, and other partners – by combining our respective authorities, capabilities, and talents to enable a more secure present and future.”

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Air Force, Northrop Grumman Test Sentinel ICBM Solid Rocket Motor
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Air Force, Northrop Grumman Test Sentinel ICBM Solid Rocket Motor

The U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman have conducted a demonstration of the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, stage-one solid rocket motor on Thursday at the company’s facility in Promontory, Utah.

Modernizing ICBM Systems to Address Nuclear Threats

The full-scale qualification static fire test verified the validity of the motor’s design, the Air Force said Thursday. During the test, the accuracy of digital engineering models were proven accurate, taking the stage-one solid rocket motor one step closer to obtaining full qualification. This development also moves the ICBM modernization program forward towards production and deployment as it builds upon previous static fire tests of the second and third stages of the Sentinel program.

Experts from Northrop Grumman and the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center are currently analyzing the test results.

The Sentinel program is set to replace the Minuteman III ICBM weapon system. This ICBM modernization initiative is vital to national defense particularly against nuclear threats.

“As we modernize our nuclear triad, the ICBM Systems Directorate is driven to securely deliver America’s ICBM capabilities,” said Brig. Gen. William Rogers, director of the ICBM Systems Directorate of the Air Force Nuclear Weapon Center. “This brings us one step closer to fielding the Sentinel weapon system, a vital component of our nation’s strategic deterrence and a testament to our unwavering commitment to national security.”

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NCCoE Selects Participants for DevOps Security Practices Project
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NCCoE Selects Participants for DevOps Security Practices Project

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence has announced the nine organizations who will participate in a project seeking to address challenges associated with DevOps and software supply chain security.

The selected “technology collaborators” in the Software Supply Chain and DevOps Security Practices Project are Black Duck, Dell Technologies, DigiCert, Endor Labs, GitLab, Google, IBM, Microsoft and Scribe Security, NCCoE said Thursday.

Mission: To Design, Build Innovative Technologies

The organizations were selected after submitting proposed capabilities that align with the project’s vision. They signed a cooperative research and development agreement with the government to provide expertise and hardware or software that would be utilized to design and build innovative technologies.

The participants will work with a project team to develop risk-based strategies and recommendations for secure DevOps and software supply chain practices. The effort envisions implementing the DevSecOps practices to proof-of-concept use-case scenarios, which could help organizations identify and mitigate cybersecurity risks posed by the software supply chain.

Launched in May 2023, the project aims to assist organizations maintain the volume and velocity of software delivery by using a cloud-native strategy and automated platforms. It also targets to showcase current and future secure development practices, tools and frameworks to address cybersecurity challenges.

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Trump Admin Says US Military Attracting More Recruits
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Trump Admin Says US Military Attracting More Recruits

President Donald Trump said the U.S military is attracting more recruits following the start of his second administration in January.

According to Trump, his executive order ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the federal government led to a surge of Americans enlisting to serve the military, the Department of Defense said Wednesday. The president reported the recruitment uptick during his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.

“I am pleased to report that in January, the U.S. Army had its single best recruiting month in 15 years and that all armed services are having among the best recruiting results ever in the history of our services,” Trump said.

Rebuilding the U.S. Military

Earlier, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a statement underscoring the Trump administration’s policy. Hegseth, a 2025 Wash100 Award recipient, stressed he intends to rebuild the country’s military focusing “on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards and readiness.”

Establishing ‘Golden Dome,’ Increasing US Shipbuilding Capacity

Trump also discussed the government’s upcoming military modernization efforts, such as creating a defense system to intercept incoming missile attacks. The president asked Congress to fund “Golden Dome,” which he pointed out is part of the administration’s initiatives to build “the most powerful military of the future.”

In addition, Trump pledged to expand the country’s shipbuilding capacity and announced the establishment of an Office of Shipbuilding within the White House. Under the new office, the government will offer tax incentives to drive domestic shipbuilding, Trump said. “We are also going to resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercial shipbuilding and military shipbuilding,” the president explained.

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DOD Releases Federal Acquisition Regulation Class Deviation
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DOD Releases Federal Acquisition Regulation Class Deviation

The Department of Defense has issued a class deviation directing contracting officers to dissolve and replace Federal Acquisition Regulation, or FAR, solicitation provisions and contract clauses associated with the Equal Employment Opportunity executive order.

DOD said Wednesday John Tenaglia, principal director of defense pricing, contracting, and acquisition policy, signed the class deviation titled Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity in Federal Contracts on Tuesday.

According to the document, contracting officers are not required to amend contract actions nearing the end of the performance period, including those with less than six months remaining, and those without options to extend.

Removing the Term ‘Gender’

The class deviation also directs the removal of the term “gender” in the FAR to comply with the Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government EO signed by President Trump in January.

GSA-Issued Class Deviations to FAR

In February, the General Services Administration released two deviations to FAR and procurement practices to implement three recent executive orders, including the Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity EO. 

GSA noted that the FAR deviations will allow federal contracting officers to modify existing contracts and solicitations without imposing penalties on the contract holder or the government.

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DIU Taps Scale AI for Thunderforge Program to Accelerate DOD-Wide AI Use
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DIU Taps Scale AI for Thunderforge Program to Accelerate DOD-Wide AI Use

Data labelling company Scale AI has secured a contract to provide generative artificial intelligence tools to the Defense Innovation Unit’s Thunderforge program designed to integrate AI into Department of Defense planning and operations. The program is geared at helping accelerate DOD-wide adoption of “cutting edge commercial AI technologies,” Doug Beck, DIU director, said Wednesday.

“Thunderforge is the foundation for the next generation of AI-driven military decision-making, enhancing the Joint Force’s ability to plan, adapt and respond to emerging challenges at machine speed – helping the warfighter to deter major conflict, or win if forced to fight,” Beck pointed out.

INDOPACOM and EUCOM Deployments

The program’s initial deployment will support the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and U.S. European Command’s mission-critical planning on such areas as campaign development, theater-wide resource distribution and strategic analysis.

The Thunderforge toolkit available to the commands include advanced large language models, AI-driven simulations and interactive agent-based wargaming.

According to Bryce Goodman, DIU Thunderforge program lead, current military planning relies on “decades-old technology and methodologies” hindering the speedy response that modern warfare demands. “Thunderforge brings AI-powered analysis and automation to operational and strategic planning, allowing decision-makers to operate at the pace required for emerging conflicts,” Goodman pointed out.

Partnership with Anduril and Microsoft

Scale AI’s Thunderforge contract award followed the DIU solicitation issued in August for GenAI tools to accelerate and enhance DOD’s joint planning. Under the contract, the San Francisco, California-based company will provide its GenAI test and evaluation capabilities as well as agentic applications. It is partnered in the program with Anduril bringing in its lattice software platform, and Microsoft contributing its LLMS.

Alexandr Wang, Scale AI founder and CEO, called it an honor for the company to lead a program designed to provide “the greatest technological advantage” to U.S. military leaders. “Working together with DIU, Combatant Commands and our industry partners, we will lead the Joint Force in integrating AI into operational decision-making,” said Scale AI’s top executive.

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DARPA, DRSI to Combat Manipulated Media
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DARPA, DRSI to Combat Manipulated Media

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has partnered with the UL Research Institutes’ Digital Safety Research Institute to further the detection, attribution and characterization of artificial intelligence-generated media.

Tackling the Threat of Manipulated Media

DARPA said Wednesday the two organizations entered a cooperative research and development agreement to address the growing threat of manipulated media or deepfakes. Through the collaboration, DSRI aims to continue DARPA’s Semantics Forensics, or SemaFor, program and sustain efforts to safeguard against manipulated audio, images, video and text. SemaFor, the successor to the Media Forensics program, concluded in September 2024 and has since transitioned its technologies to the government and commercial sectors.

Under the agreement, DSRI will oversee the program’s AI Forensics Open Research Challenge Evaluations, or AI FORCE. It will be tasked with announcing challenge results and awarding research grants. DSRI will conduct these events at academic conferences, which serve as an open scientific research ecosystem for individuals and organizations to share ideas and techniques.

Manipulated media has become a growing problem ever since automated manipulation technologies became more accessible while the use of social media to share these manipulated content have become more prevalent.

Wil Corvey, program manager of DARPA’s SemaFor, stated, “DSRI’s mission of product testing and evaluation, specifically with respect to the complex and evolving sociotechnical environment in which products will be deployed, makes them an ideal fit for this area of transition.”

Jill Crisman, executive director of DSRI of UL Research Institutes, added, “DSRI aims to enable digital information testing and inspection tools [to] keep pace with the rapid advances of generative AI.”

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NIST Seeks Feedback on Strategies to Achieve Crypto Agility
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NIST Seeks Feedback on Strategies to Achieve Crypto Agility

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is inviting the public to comment on a new white paper discussing approaches and considerations to achieve crypto agility.

The Cybersecurity White Paper, or CSWP, 39 outlines anticipated challenges and trade-offs to providing operational mechanisms for achieving crypto agility while maintaining interoperability, NIST said Wednesday. The latest CSWP also highlights several working areas of the effort that require more discussions.

Replacing Outdated Algorithms

According to NIST, crypto agility embodies the required capabilities to replace outdated cryptographic algorithms and use advanced versions for protocols, applications, software, hardware and infrastructures. The concept envisions the implementation of new algorithms without interrupting the flow of an existing system to achieve resilience.

The adoption of a crypto agility approach is meant to advance the NIST mission of seamlessly migrating critical government systems to post-quantum cryptography standards, which would address the threats posed by future cryptographically-relevant quantum computers to public-key cryptography. The technology is slated to support government initiatives to replace algorithms with inadequate security features.

NIST will accept feedback on the white paper until April 30. The agency will also conduct virtual workshops to discuss with relevant stakeholders the formulation of strategies for pursuing crypto agility.

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LLNS Issues RFI for Arachne Spacecraft Development Effort
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LLNS Issues RFI for Arachne Spacecraft Development Effort

Lawrence Livermore National Security seeks to develop a spacecraft as part of its proposal to be a prime contractor for a mission under the NASA Astrophysics Small Satellite Explorers Program and has issued a request for information concerning the effort.

Arachne Spacecraft Bus

LLNS is looking into possible vendors that can co-engineer the Arachne spacecraft bus, which will house a technology readiness level 6 telescope, according to a sources sought notice posted Wednesday on SAM.gov. The same vendor is expected to ultimately deliver an integrated observatory to a launch services provider.

ROM Requirement

Interested parties must submit rough order of magnitude—or ROM—estimates for the proposed spacecraft bus. The ROM should include cost estimates and a technical writeup. Responses are due Apr. 18.

The selection of LLNS’ proposal by NASA is expected to result in a competitive solicitation for a firm-fixed-price subcontract by calendar year 2026. Full rate production of three units of the spacecraft is projected to begin the following year.

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