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BIS Updates Export Controls for Space-Related Products
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BIS Updates Export Controls for Space-Related Products

The Bureau of Industry and Security within the Department of Commerce has issued a final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations, or EAR, to eliminate license requirements for specific space technologies sent to Australia, Canada and the U.K.

The rule aims to strengthen space collaboration with the three countries and covers spacecraft and other items involving remote sensing or space-based logistics, assembly or servicing, the BIS said Thursday.

At the same time, the bureau released an interim final rule updating the EAR to reduce export control requirements on certain space-related items sent to more than 40 U.S. allies and partners. The change is intended to support NASA programs and boost U.S. global leadership in space technology. Interested parties may submit comments on the rule to the Regulations.gov federal rulemaking portal.

The BIS is also seeking feedback on a proposed rule to transfer jurisdiction of certain space-related defense articles that have ceased to provide a significant military or intelligence advantage from the State Department’s U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List. Target technologies include satellites designed to refuel other spacecraft and those built for autonomous collision avoidance.

According to Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves, the EAR updates and the proposed rule are important to deepen international partnerships, enable a globally strong and competitive space industrial base and grow the economy.

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OSC Releases New Policy for Responsible AI Use
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OSC Releases New Policy for Responsible AI Use

The Office of Special Counsel has introduced a new policy to guide the management of artificial intelligence within the agency.

To support the policy, OSC compiled an inventory of existing and upcoming AI use cases and instituted a review process for the safe adoption of new covered AI tools, the agency said Wednesday.

According to Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger, OSC will protect fairness, transparency and accountability across the federal workforce.

“OSC will lead by example in the smart and responsible use of artificial intelligence in government,” he said.

The policy includes the creation of a chief AI officer position to supervise agency practices regarding AI capabilities. OSC also formed a task force to identify unlawful AI use and take corrective actions.

The OSC policy is built on the concept of transparency. To foster trust in government, the policy dictates standards for keeping inventories of AI use cases available for review by oversight entities. OSC also launched a website containing relevant information on the agency’s AI policy that is available to the public and U.S.-based watchdogs.

The policy acknowledges that AI will impact government programs and contributes to OSC’s efforts to carry out mission activities as technology advances. It also enables the office to leverage the technology to expand its capacity, accelerate its research efforts and become more efficient.

“Where AI has the potential to affect basic rights and safety, we will proceed responsibly and transparently,” Dellinger stressed.

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Jeff Baur Offers Glimpse Into Navy Logistics IT Modernization Progress
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Jeff Baur Offers Glimpse Into Navy Logistics IT Modernization Progress

The U.S. Navy is advancing a logistics IT modernization initiative intended to update the applications that shipyards, aviation units and other organizations across the service branch use to manage parts, products and equipment, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

This effort — known as Naval Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul, or N-MRO — is part of the Navy’s broader LOG IT portfolio and aims to elevate the user experience so parts can be ordered more efficiently.

Jeff Baur, product director for logistics IT services within DON’s Program Executive Office for Manpower, Logistics and Business Solutions, said PEO-MLB is enhancing a commercial off-the-shelf, or COTS, platform to meet these performance goals.

“The sailors are telling us how they want this tool to be configured. So we have determined that, yes, the tool can meet all of our requirements from a technical standpoint. Now it’s a matter of improving the user experience so that it’s easy for them to use,” Baur said at a recent AFCEA event.

“We’re applying that COTS product broadly across the Department of the Navy, against all of the user requirements that we have for shipyards, ships, aviation,” he continued. “And we’re implementing that solution, first starting with organizational level maintenance, but then moving on to intermediate and depot level maintenance.”

In 2020, IFS and Lockheed Martin secured a $233 million contract to modernize and integrate 20 logistics systems in support of the N-MRO program. Through this contract, the companies will deliver a platform infused with predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and digital twin capabilities to address potential equipment failures before they occur.

According to Baur, PEO-MLB recently concluded the initial testing of the platform on a ship and will leverage the results to identify next steps for design and capability improvements.

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Treasury, OMB Release Final FY 2024 Budget Results
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Treasury, OMB Release Final FY 2024 Budget Results

The deficit increased by $138 billion to $1.8 trillion in fiscal year 2024 and governmental receipts rose by $479 billion to $4.9 trillion, up 10 percent from FY 2023, according to the Department of the Treasury and Office of Management and Budget.

In a joint release published Friday, the organizations said the rise in FY 2024 receipts can be attributed to increases in individual and corporate income taxes and social insurance and retirement receipts.

“The U.S. economy continued to demonstrate its strength and resilience in 2024, with inflation having fallen more than two thirds from its peak while the labor market remains strong. Anchored by strong household consumption and strong business investment, GDP growth has remained healthy even as inflation normalizes,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

The FY 2024 deficit was 6.4 percent as a percentage of gross domestic product and was $76 billion lower than the baseline estimate of $1.91 trillion in the 2024 budget published, which was released in March.

Outlays climbed by 10.1 percent, approximately $617 billion, to $6.8 trillion partially due to a Supreme Court decision on certain student loan programs, increases in defense spending and Social Security spending and a rise in Medicare gross outlays.

Federal borrowing from the public hit $28.2 trillion in FY 2024, an increase of $2 trillion from the previous fiscal year.

The two agencies attributed the increase to borrowing needed to fund the deficit and net borrowing associated with other transactions, including net disbursements for federal credit programs and changes in cash balances.

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BWXT-Amentum-Fluor JV to Begin Work Under $45B DOE Contract
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BWXT-Amentum-Fluor JV to Begin Work Under $45B DOE Contract

The Department of Energy has authorized H2C — a joint venture of BWX Technologies, Amentum and Fluor — to begin managing tank waste at Hanford Site in Washington state.

BWXT said Thursday the notice to proceed is effective Monday, Oct. 21.

“We are very excited to begin working with DOE on this incredibly important cleanup mission,” said Heatherly Dukes, president of BWXT Technical Services Group.

“H2C’s leadership team has been deployed and brings 170 years of combined experience in tank waste disposition and disciplined nuclear operations,” Dukes added.

In February, DOE awarded H2C the 10-year, $45 billion Hanford Integrated Tank Disposition Contract. Approval to begin contract work was given following the U.S. Court of Federal Claims’ dismissal of a protest of the initial award.

Contract responsibilities include the operation of Hanford tank farm facilities and future operation of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant as well as project management, security and emergency services, environment, safety, health and quality, business performance and other related services.

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DTC Redefines ‘Digital Twin’ With Digital Engineering in Mind
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DTC Redefines ‘Digital Twin’ With Digital Engineering in Mind

The Digital Twin Consortium has refreshed the definitions of “digital twin” and “digital thread.”

These changes are intended to better represent the relationship between these terms and key digital engineering principles, the organization said earlier this month.

Dan Isaacs, general manager and chief technology officer of the DTC, said the updates “reflect the evolving landscape of digital engineering” and will help create “a common understanding that bridges multiple sectors and applications over the digital twin lifecycle.”

The new digital twin definition describes the technology as “an integrated data-driven virtual representation of real-world entities and processes, with synchronized interaction at a specified frequency and fidelity.”

According to David McKee, co-chair of the DTC Capabilities and Technology Working Group and lead author of the organization’s definition team, the updated digital twin definition is grounded in physics and “emphasizes synchronization and data, with a model-based approach tied to engineering technology.”

A digital thread is defined as “a bidirectional, dependable and trustworthy interconnected information system that links multiple dimensions, including structure, behavior, space, time and lifecycle stages.”

“Intrinsically linked to the digital twin, the refined digital thread definition highlights critical elements, including seamless, secure data flow across the product lifecycle and all organizations, silos and stakeholders,” McKee said.

DTC Redefines ‘Digital Twin’ With Digital Engineering in Mind

These revisions were informed by the 2024 Foundational Research Gaps and Future Directions for Digital Twins report, which was published by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine earlier this year and draws attention to the mirroring capabilities and other attributes of digital twins. 

Through the changes, DTC hopes to “foster greater understanding, more transparent communication for more effective collaboration and accelerated innovation and adoption throughout the digital twin ecosystem,” said Isaacs.

Digital twins are one capability the Defense Department is exploring as it modernizes to meet the demands of today’s shifting national security landscape. Hear experts discuss digital twins and other key technologies at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Defense R&D Summit on Jan. 23, where public and private sector leaders will weigh in on the Pentagon’s top technology priorities. Access all the insights they have to offer at the 2025 Defense R&D Summit.

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NIST Director to Step Down After Selection as ANSI CEO
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NIST Director to Step Down After Selection as ANSI CEO

National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Laurie Locascio will step down in early 2025 to serve as the new president and CEO of the American National Standards Institute.

ANSI announced Locascio’s election to the top post on Oct. 8 after the organization’s board meeting, noting that the incoming chief will take over from Joe Bhatia in January, Nextgov/FCW reported Thursday.

In a LinkedIn post, Locascio announced her upcoming transfer from government service to a nonprofit entity tasked with coordinating voluntary standards adoption across U.S. industries. The Department of Commerce undersecretary also thanked Bhatia for nearly “two decades of outstanding leadership” at ANSI.

A Commerce Department spokesperson confirmed on Thursday the NIST chief’s imminent departure, noting that Locascio will remain in her current posts until the scheduled move to ANSI.

Before she was appointed NIST head, Locascio served as vice president for research at the University of Maryland College Park and the University of Maryland Baltimore. Earlier, she worked as a research biomedical engineer at NIST, led the agency’s Material Measurement Laboratory and then served as its associate director for laboratory programs and principal deputy director.

Locascio earned a doctorate in toxicology from the University of Maryland Baltimore, a master’s in bioengineering from the University of Utah and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from James Madison University.

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Alteryx, Partners: AI Policies Must Recognize Role of Integrators
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Alteryx, Partners: AI Policies Must Recognize Role of Integrators

A group of companies comprising Alteryx, Salesforce, Twilio, Box, Kyndryl and Peraton has sent the Artificial Intelligence Task Force within the House of Representatives a letter calling for legislation that more accurately reflects the complexity of the AI ecosystem.

Recognizing AI Integrators

Alteryx said Thursday that most current AI policy proposals focus exclusively on AI developers and deployers while failing to recognize the role that integrators play. Such companies work to integrate existing models and make them more specialized or otherwise enhanced.

By taking integrators into account, policies would be able to provide a framework to benefit companies working on generative AI that can be classified as neither developer nor deployer.

Realizing the Potential of AI

Commenting on the matter, Tommy Ross, the head of global public policy at Alteryx, said, “The AI value chain is a vastly complex and intricate ecosystem with players who fulfill a spectrum of different roles and responsibilities in deploying generative AI models.”

“To accurately capture this complexity and put forth a clear, comprehensive, and workable framework for AI policy, future debates should clarify the roles of AI actors beyond deployers and developers, to include the multiple actors that are heavily involved in AI,” Ross added.

For his part, Peraton Chief Innovation Officer Chris Valentino said, “To realize the full potential of AI, we need a regulatory framework that recognizes the complex roles within the AI value chain.”

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NASA Forms Team to Review Mars Sample Return Program
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NASA Forms Team to Review Mars Sample Return Program

NASA has formed a new strategy review team tasked with evaluating potential architecture changes to the Mars Sample Return Program, an initiative to bring scientifically selected samples from Mars to Earth with the goal of understanding the planet further.

The agency said Wednesday the new team will evaluate 11 design studies proposing methods of bringing the samples to Earth in the 2030s. These NASA-commissioned studies will aim for lower costs and higher efficiency with zero risks and mission complexity.

The team will furnish NASA with a report by the end of 2024 giving its recommendation on a primary architecture for a complete mission design, along with estimated expenses and schedule.

Former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine, a former recipient of the Wash100 Award, will lead the Mars Sample Return Strategy Review team while David Mitchell, chief program management officer at NASA Headquarters, will head the NASA Analysis Team.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, a 2024 Wash100 Award winner, said the Mars Sample Return is vital to plans to launch a rocket off the planet and return safely to Earth.

“It is critical that Mars Sample Return is done in a cost-effective and efficient way, and we look forward to learning the recommendations from the strategy review team to achieve our goals for the benefit of humanity,” said the former senator.

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DOE Solicits Small Nuclear Reactor Proposals Under $900M Funding
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DOE Solicits Small Nuclear Reactor Proposals Under $900M Funding

The Department of Energy has issued a solicitation for project proposals on its $900 million program to deploy Generation III+ small modular reactors, or Gen III+ SMRs, across the United States. 

The solicitation, which follows through on the department’s notice of intent for the program announced in June, seeks to support the private sector in installing domestic Gen III+ SMRs that promote environmental protection, benefit the community, create jobs and boost U.S. nuclear industry leadership, DOE said Wednesday.

In addition, the funding aims to promote the secure and responsible development of advanced U.S. nuclear reactor technologies and spur follow-on projects to meet the demand for reliable, affordable and clean power supporting U.S. climate goals.  

The DOE funding is open in two tiers, with the first allotted $800 million for two teams composed of utility, building and other plant contractors for the first two Gen III+ SMRs. The Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations will manage the first tier, which will also potentially involve the National Nuclear Security Administration for the projects’ safeguard and security design.

A $100 million funding is available for the second tier, which will be managed by the Office of Nuclear Energy, to fill key gaps seen as hindering domestic nuclear industry growth, such as design, supplier development and site preparation. 

According to the DOE’s solicitation, funding priority will be extended to proposals with the highest potential for successful deployment, development of a Gen III+ SMR orderbook and advancement of the U.S. nuclear industry’s resilience. The deadline for the submission of project proposals is Jan. 17, 2025.

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