The Department of Defense’s inspector general plans to review the U.S. Air Force’s previous certification for SpaceX to offer its Falcon launch vehicles for military launch service contracts. DoD’s watchdog announced an evaluation on Monday that will examine if the service branch complied with the Launch Services New Entrant Certification Guide while certifying the launch system. 

In 2015, the Air Force approved the design of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets to join the service’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. The certification allows manufacturers to demonstrate their abilities to design, build and deliver a platform to help send military satellites into orbit.

The IG said the initial evaluation will begin in February at the Space and Missile Systems Center at the Los Angeles Air Force Base in California.

Dana Deasy, chief information officer of the Department of Defense, has said DoD’s artificial intelligence strategy supports every facet of the National Defense Strategy, DoD reported Tuesday.

Deasy told reporters Tuesday that the Pentagon’s AI strategy focuses on increasing agility and speed and that the performance of AI program will depend on the department’s relationships with external and internal partners.

“Interagency, industry, our allies and the academic community will all play a vital role in executing our AI strategy,” he said during a roundtable meeting with reporters.

The Pentagon’s AI strategy details the strategic approach designed to guide initiatives to speed up AI adoption and those include delivering AI-based capabilities that address missions; scaling AI’s impact across the department through a common foundation; leading in AI safety and military ethics; and building up a leading AI workforce.

Deasy, a 2019 Wash100 winner, announced the launch of DoD’s AI strategy with Air Force Lt. Gen. John N.T. Shanahan, director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. Shanahan noted that JAIC serves as the strategy’s focal point and discussed the center’s strategic focus areas.

DoD unveiled its AI strategy a day after the White House launched the American AI Initiative through an executive order.

\n\n

Visit the Wash100 website to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2019 Wash100 Award. On the website, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2019.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s second modern geostationary weather satellite will be operating over the western U.S., Hawaii, Alaska and Pacific Ocean. The satellite, named GOES-17, is designed to help weather forecasters predict storms, wildfire and other environmental hazards via detailed information, NOAA said Tuesday.

The agency launched GOES-17 in March 2018, adding to the GOES-16 that operates on the program’s eastern coverage. GOES-17 replaces GOES-15 that will cease operations in July after almost eight years of service.

Stephen Volz, director of NOAA’s satellite and information service, said the new satellite’s advanced baseline imager is projected to provide more data by over 97 percent of the original designed capacity.

The U.S. Air Force and Army issued solicitations seeking industry support for new initiatives to expand the cyber training environment for U.S. service members, Fifth Domain reported Tuesday.

The Army is aiming to build new cyber ranges in Orlando and Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Charleston, S. C., and in Patuxent River, Md to increase cybersecurity training and certification events for its troops.

In a separate solicitation, the Army’s Cyber Center of Excellence is looking for industry and public input on new classroom, virtual training and hands-on exercises for its cybersecurity courses. To further expand the military’s capabilities, the Air Force also hopes to build new training, research and testing facilities at the service’s academy in Colorado as part of the CyberWorx project. The Air Force plans to provide $30M in funding for the first phase of the project. 

The Air Force Academy would also host the Department of Homeland Security’s Center of Innovation. The initiatives by the two service branches come after the Trump administration called on the Pentagon to be more aggressive in cyberspace.

The Federal Aviation Administration and NASA are partnering with industry to create a cloud-based traffic management system that handles drones flying in the national airspace, the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management platform organizes the flight of drones registered with the FAA and enables drone users to coordinate airspace use through a UAS Service Supplier.

The UTM system enables Low Altitude Authorization Notification Capability drone operators to receive real-time authorization to fly in a controlled airspace. Additionally, the system can handle USS and drone operator coordination via mobile and other electronic devices connected to the Internet. 

USS and other data providers may leverage automated UTM communication to share information such as weather and terrain data, airspace events and operational plans addressing flight conflicts. DHS’ science and technology directorate is speaking with entities involved to develop related systems such as the Urban Counter-UAS Operational Prototype, which will be used to detect unauthorized drones in the national airspace.

The UTM infrastructure was first conceptualized by NASA and will be rolled out in increments in the near future.