Christopher Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and 2019 Wash100 Award recipient, said that U.S. “innovation edge” will retain the nation’s status as a global technological leader, Nextgov reported Wednesday. Krebs told attendees at a Chertoff Group event in Washington that CISA seeks to work with the Energy Department in protecting critical systems as the U.S. continues to compete with Russia and China in tech leadership.

Dimitri Kusnezov, DOE’s deputy undersecretary for artificial intelligence and technology, said the department secretary is “fully invested in both AI and supercomputing” as DOE launches new projects in exascale technology. The government has been working to mitigate the interference of Chinese technology, specifically Huawei-developed products, to U.S. efforts such as the planned 5G rollout.

NASA administrator and 2019 Wash100 Award recipient Jim Bridenstine said the private sector may reach the moon ahead of the agency’s plan to return astronauts to the lunar surface over the next five years, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. He expects commercial missions to make successful landings before the government’s target schedule for 2024.

Companies would demonstrate landers and other capabilities on the moon to secure competitive advantage as NASA aims to use commercial services to support the lunar mission, Bridenstine said at the 2019 Paris Air Show. “We’re seeing a resurgence of interest in the moon… like we’ve never seen before,” the official said.  

NASA plans to provide up to $30 billion over the next five years for the moon mission. SpaceX and Blue Origin expressed interest in investing in lunar exploration and in competing for contracts from the space agency. 

The General Services Administration’s 18F and DigitalGov teams developed and launched a website to help federal agencies comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act and navigate the PRA clearance process, FedScoop reported Wednesday.

The PRA Guide “aims to give federal employees confidence working with the PRA — and through this, lower the barriers to working effectively with the public,” according to an introduction to the site posted on DigitalGov. The Office of Management and Budget’s office of information and regulatory affairs, which is responsible for PRA clearances, reviewed and approved the content in the guide that was developed with the help of the 10x fund.

PRA is a law enacted in 1980 to govern how agencies collect data from the public and seeks to facilitate the decision-making process based on quality data and protect personal information. The website offers information on the types of clearances and the PRA approval process, such as developing the information collection request and publishing a 60-day request for comment in the Federal Register.

The Air Force Materiel Command has unveiled a new course that seeks to equip students with knowledge and expertise in procurement efforts.

Students will be given an opportunity to visit AFMC facilities and evaluate acquisition strategies and weapons through the Advanced Acquisition Course, the U.S. Air Force said Tuesday.

Additionally, the students will audit the Air Force Weapons School’s acacemic blocks to validate how they will complement a materiel-focused curriculum.

“Auditing Core I and II will allow our students to get a quick introduction to most of the communities out there, and allow them to start thinking about how their individual experiences and expertise can integrate into the Weapons School itself and with operating communities,” said Col. Steve Smith, Advanced Acquisition Course commandant at AFMC.

The course will also feature visits to Capitol Hill, Air Force Rapid Capability Office and AFWERX.

Norfolk Naval Shipyard has launched a new submarine maintenance facility to boost the timeliness of ship deliveries from the U.S. Navy’s public shipyards. The two-storey facility supports the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan, and houses maintenance, production and support activities in a single venue beside the shipyard’s submarine drydocks, Naval Sea Systems Command said Tuesday. The 24,000-square foot building employs an open-office design to accommodate collaborative work with teams working on submarine projects.

“This facility will foster that environment by putting shops from 15 locations under one roof where they can work more efficiently with each other as they fulfill the mission,” said Capt. Kai Torkelson, shipyard commander at NNSY. 

The Navy spent $9.9 million and over three years to complete the building that meets calamity resistance and anti-terrorist protection requirements. Blast-proof windows and thick concrete walls protect the facility’s interior. The building supports maintenance efforts on Los Angeles-class submarines, and will accommodate Virginia and Colombia classes in the future, according to Pat Ensley, submarine program manager at NNSY.

The U.S. Coast Guard has selected Seattle, Wash. as the homeport for its new Polar Security Cutters due to “operational and logistical needs”, Navy Times reported Tuesday.

“The Pacific Northwest has been the home of our icebreaking fleet since 1976, and I am confident that the Seattle area will continue to provide the support we need to carry out our critical operations in the polar regions,” said Adm. Karl Schultz, commandant of the Coast Guard, in a statement to the publication.

In April, ST Engineering subsidiary VT Systems won a potential $1.94 billion contract to build a maximum of three heavy icebreakers to support USCG’s law enforcement, search and rescue, environmental response and national security missions in the polar regions. The U.S. Navy expects VT Systems to begin constructing the first of the cutters in 2021 and deliver the ship by 2024.