NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center has initiated a series of in-flight tests that aims to identify the physiological effects of high-performance aircraft flights on the human body.

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center at Langley Research Center will monitor the breathing of five NASA pilots operating different airplanes and equipment in various flight conditions, the agency said Wednesday.

Armstrong will provide its F-18A/B and F-15D planes for the research program, which aims to examine the effects of high-performance flights on the aircraft as well.

Clinton Cragg, principal engineer at NESC, said during a recent congressional testimony that only a few studies have assessed the impact of high-performance flights on humans.

He noted that previous studies were not able to record certain variables such as the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in a pilot’s mask, the pressure within the cockpit and the pilot’s breathing rates, all of which could be used to complete the current research.

Alan Shaffer, the White House’s nominee for the role of deputy undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment at the Defense Department, has said one of his priorities once confirmed is to focus on the DoD’s acquisition workforce, Defense News reported Tuesday.

“We’ve got to really focus on giving every bit of training to our young program managers and empower them to make a mistake — not big mistake — but empower them” to prototype and experiment, Schaffer said Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Other Pentagon nominees who appeared before the Senate panel were Veronica Daigle, nominee for the post of assistant defense secretary for readiness; Robert McMahon, nominee for the role of assistant defense secretary for sustainment; Alex Beehler, nominee for the assistant secretary of the U.S. Army for installations, energy and environment; and Casey Wardynski, nominee for the post of assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs.

Matthew Travis, deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, has said the agency is working on adapting its cybersecurity strategy to counter advanced cyber threats aimed at the government, Bloomberg Government reported Tuesday.

The DHS intends to strengthen its cybersecurity authority, which includes requiring other agencies to update their cybersecurity policies in areas where the National Protection and Programs Directorate sees unmitigated risks.

The department will also rely on public-private partnerships to work toward the same objectives.

DHS Assistant Secretary Jeanette Manfra said during an NPPD Office of Cybersecurity and Communications event that government and industry representatives who will work at the new National Risk Management Center will boost collaboration on cybersecurity.

Manfra added that federal contractors should adhere to standardized security practices and strict security requirements stated in governmentwide contracts.

The DHS also aims to launch several cybersecurity-related procurement programs through 2020, such as recompeting the Priority Telecommunications Services contract and streamlining the operations of the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center.

The Congressional Research Service recently weighed in on the issue of the creation of a space force, citing four options that either the president or Congress could implement to establish a military unit dedicated to operations in space.

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The CRS said in the August 16 edition of its “In Focus” publication that a space force could be set up within any of the existing U.S. military service branches, namely the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps or Navy, by means of an internal reorganization.

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Another option involves the creation of a new unified combatant command, which could either stand on its own or be subordinated to any of the existing COCOMs, the Congressional think tank reported, pointing to the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act as an example of the latter.

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The defense authorization bill contains a provision calling for the establishment of a U.S. Space Command under the U.S. Strategic Command.

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Alternatively, the space force could be set up as a new service branch under any of the three military departments, namely the Department of the Army, Navy or Air Force; or it could be set up as a new military department altogether, the CRS noted.

An office within the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command and the U.S. Navy‘s Information Warfare Training Group have partnered to align and synchronize the service branch’s cyber assessments and monitoring.

The FCC said Tuesday its Office of Compliance and Assessment and IWTG entered into the partnership under the Command Cyber Operational Readiness Inspections program.

“The Navy has a significant challenge analyzing all of the different cyber assessments and inspections done by various organizations, because there is no aligned effort,” said Capt. Kristian Kearton, director at OCA.

He added that the partnership aims to synchronize assessments, standards and schedules of the FCC, IWTG and other commands.

The OCA and the IWTG jointly conduct CCORI activities to streamline training and to ease the burden on ships in line with the Navy’s optimized fleet response plan.

Command cyber readiness inspections work to verify network compliance based on DoD and Navy requirements, and provide recommendations to help the service branch bolster networks.

A Congressional Research Service report says the U.S. Coast Guard requested $750M in fiscal 2019 funds for a program to procure three new heavy polar icebreakers, USNI News reported Tuesday.

The USCG and the U.S. Navy issued a solicitation in March for the program and now estimate the total acquisition cost for the initiative to reach approximately $2.1B, or an average of approximately $700M per vessel, according to the CRS report obtained by USNI News.

The requested FY 2019 budget, along with the $359.6M in allocated FY 2018 funds, would fully fund the purchase of the first heavy polar icebreaker and partly fund the acquisition of the second ship in the program, the report noted.

The report also cited some program-related issues Congress needs to address in the coming fiscal year, such as modifying or clearing the FY 2019 funding request for the acquisition effort; choosing between a block buy contract and a contract with options; funding the program through the Navy’s shipbuilding account; and adopting a common design for both medium and heavy polar icebreakers.