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Report: NASA to Announce Commercial Crew Program Astronauts in August
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Report: NASA to Announce Commercial Crew Program Astronauts in August


Report: NASA to Announce Commercial Crew Program Astronauts in AugustNASA is set to announce on Aug. 3 the first batch of astronauts who will travel to the International Space Station under the Commercial Crew Program, Politico reported Friday.

The space agency expects the program’s maiden mission to take place sometime in 2020.

Boeing and SpaceX were awarded contracts worth up to $6.8 billion combined in September 2014 to ferry astronauts to and from the space station with the CST-100 and Dragon spacecraft.

Each contractor received four additional ISS transport missions in January of last year.

The Aug. 3 mission will also mark Americans’ first trip to space from U.S. ground since the Space Shuttle program concluded seven years ago.

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Tiffany Hixson: GSA Advances Performance-Based Approach in Service Procurements
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Tiffany Hixson: GSA Advances Performance-Based Approach in Service Procurements


Tiffany Hixson: GSA Advances Performance-Based Approach in Service Procurements
Tiffany Hixson

Tiffany Hixson, assistant commissioner of the office of professional and human capital services at the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service, has said she believes the government should adopt a performance-based approach when it comes to services procurement, Federal News Radio reported Friday.

“Traditional strategic sourcing proposals based on price don’t work well, in my opinion, in the services acquisition space,” Hixson said Thursday at Deltek’s Spending Spree event.

“I think most procurements in services need to be done from best-value perspective,” she added.

Hixson noted that the agency has updated the performance-based procurement resource for professional services on the Acquisition Gateway and initiated efforts to build up the adoption of the four-tier professional services schedule.

Christopher Krebs: Trump Administration Seeks Public-Private Collaboration for National Risk Mgmt Initiative
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Christopher Krebs: Trump Administration Seeks Public-Private Collaboration for National Risk Mgmt Initiative


Christopher Krebs: Trump Administration Seeks Public-Private Collaboration for National Risk Mgmt Initiative
Christopher Krebs

Christopher Krebs, undersecretary for the Department of Homeland Security’s national protection and programs directorate, has said the Trump administration plans to launch an initiative to encourage public-private partnerships to address cyber threats and secure critical infrastructure, Nextgov reported Friday.

He told audience at a Washington Post-hosted cyber forum Friday the planned national risk management initiative seeks to involve DHS and the departments of Energy and Treasury as well as companies and sector-specific agencies that deal with cybersecurity.

The idea comes as the government works to avoid cyber attacks on the 2018 midterm elections.

FCW reported that Krebs said he believes a lack of cooperation between industry and governments at the federal and state levels prompted the administration to establish a new risk management program.

“[We are] pushing a collective security model where we work together to manage risk,” he said.

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DARPA Launches Program to Expedite Exploratory Research Work on ‘3rd Wave’ AI Concepts
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DARPA Launches Program to Expedite Exploratory Research Work on ‘3rd Wave’ AI Concepts


DARPA Launches Program to Expedite Exploratory Research Work on '3rd Wave' AI ConceptsThe Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has introduced a new program that aims to speed up research and development work on artificial intelligence platforms in an effort to help the U.S. maintain its technological edge in the field of AI.

The AI Exploration program will focus on the development of “third wave” AI applications and theory designed to allow machines to adapt to evolving situations, DARPA said Friday.

DARPA Launches Program to Expedite Exploratory Research Work on '3rd Wave' AI ConceptsThe agency expects exploratory research work to begin within three months of the announcement of funding opportunities – AIE Opportunities – and plans to award “other transactions” agreements worth up to $1 million each for prototype projects, according to the program announcement.

Researchers should determine the feasibility of AI-based ideas and concepts within 18 months of the OTA-based contract award.

“The intent is to get researchers on contract quickly to test the value and feasibility of innovative concepts,” Peter Highnam, deputy director of DARPA, said of the AIE initiative.

DARPA said the AIE program seeks to pursue AI pilots; proofs of concepts; applications of commercial technology platforms for defense use; and design, development and demonstration of operational or technical utility.

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Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper: DSCA Mulls Shipment Fee Reduction for Foreign Weapons Buyers
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Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper: DSCA Mulls Shipment Fee Reduction for Foreign Weapons Buyers


Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper: DSCA Mulls Shipment Fee Reduction for Foreign Weapons Buyers
Charles Hooper

Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper, director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency and a 2018 Wash100 awardee, has said that DSCA looks to cut the transportation fee charged to foreign military sales clients, Defense News reported Saturday.

The agency calculates shipping charges on FMS contracts fee partly based on current oil prices and seeks to lower the fee as part of efforts to increase sales of U.S.-built weapons systems to the country’s allies.

DSCA lowered in June the FMS administration surcharge from 3.5 percent on every transaction to 3.2 percent.

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Report: Marines Look to Adopt Loitering Munitions
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Report: Marines Look to Adopt Loitering Munitions


Report: Marines Look to Adopt Loitering MunitionsThe U.S. Marine Corps intends to arm front-line troops with suicide drones, also called loitering munitions, to help them perform missions in austere locations beyond a striking range of manned aerial platforms, Marines Corps Times reported Saturday.

The service branch envisions deploying swarms of up to 15 suicide drones each under the control of a single marine and the operator possessing a capacity to manage close-air support and electronic warfare operations.

USMC sought input from industry in April about the availability of a pneumatic launched suicide drone system that could travel 37 miles for two hours.

Defense & Aerospace Export Council Supports US Conventional Arms Transfer Policy
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Defense & Aerospace Export Council Supports US Conventional Arms Transfer Policy


Defense & Aerospace Export Council Supports US Conventional Arms Transfer PolicyThe U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Defense and Aerospace Export Council has expressed support for the Trump administration’s implementation plan for a new policy governing U.S. arms transfer processes.

Keith Webster, president of DAEC and vice president at Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement released Thursday implementing the Conventional Arms Transfer policy will mark a key step toward adoption of measures to fast-track government approval of proposals from defense and aerospace companies.

The CAT implementation plan includes the council’s recommendations such as institution of policies that seek to improve quality of bids while decreasing the cost to companies and prioritization of economic considerations in federal transfer deals.

DAEC also proposed updating the Defense Department Technology Security Foreign Disclosure policy procedure; establishing an avenue for foreign industrial security mechanisms to gain access to U.S. defense technology platforms; and modernizing foreign military sales pricing structure.

Rep. John Ratcliffe Unveils DHS Cybersecurity Modernization Bill
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Rep. John Ratcliffe Unveils DHS Cybersecurity Modernization Bill


Rep. John Ratcliffe Unveils DHS Cybersecurity Modernization Bill
John Ratcliffe

Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas has introduced a bill to keep the Continuous Diagnostics Mitigation program of the Department of Homeland Security up-to-date.

The proposed Advancing Cybersecurity Diagnostics and Mitigation Act aims to give CDM a boost in the hopes that it can keep up with emerging cyber technologies and guard against potential cybersecurity threats, Ratcliffe’s office said Wednesday.

“CDM is a critical component of our national cyber security strategy,” Ratcliffe said, and explained that the bill is meant to extend the program’s lifespan, maintain concurrence with technologies in the private sector and prevent system obsolescence issues in government agencies.

The proposed legislation also includes the development of procedures and policies for the reporting of enterprise cybersecurity vulnerabilities and potential incidents identified from CDM-gathered data.

Ratcliffe stated that “cybersecurity is national security” and noted the need to address threats to the national digital border through risk-based approaches via programs such as the CDM.

DARPA Demos Quadropter Software in Phase II Flight Tests
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DARPA Demos Quadropter Software in Phase II Flight Tests


DARPA Demos Quadropter Software in Phase II Flight TestsThe Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has tested the teaming ability of small air and ground systems when performing different tasks in simulated urban areas without human intervention.

DARPA said Wednesday industry and university researchers updated software and  commercial sensors in small quadcopters that were demonstrated through phase 2 of flight tests under the agency’s Fast Lightweight Autonomy program.

The autonomous drones were able to fly in between buildings and through narrow areas during the demonstration.

“Unmanned systems equipped with FLA algorithms need no remote pilot, no GPS guidance, no communications link, and no pre-programmed map of the area – the onboard software, lightweight processor, and low-cost sensors do all the work autonomously in real time,” said John-Charles Lede, program manager at DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office.

Researchers completed the first phase of flight tests last year.

DARPA launched the FLA applied research program in 2015 with the goal to leverage autonomy algorithms to manage lightweight quadcopters with short operational lifespans and limited computer processing capability onboard.

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White House Forms National Council, Advisory Board to Address Workforce Challenges
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White House Forms National Council, Advisory Board to Address Workforce Challenges


White House Forms National Council, Advisory Board to Address Workforce ChallengesPresident Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday with the aim of establishing a council and an advisory board to help address “urgent” challenges that U.S. workforce faces.

The National Council for the American Worker will introduce a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of labor matters such as skills development in today’s young employees and the importance of science, technology, engineering and math education programs, the White House said Thursday.

The group will also implement efforts to increase the number of apprenticeships and incentivize companies that train and re-train workers. It also seeks to provide a means to increase transparency regarding education, employment statistics and job training programs.

Additionally, the council will consider recommendations from the American Workers Policy Board on how to drive education and training initiatives throughout the country.

In a separate statement, the White House said more than 20 companies and trade groups have pledged to create opportunities for students and workers over the next five years.

These employers and associations vowed to introduce apprenticeship, work-based learning, on-the-job training, reskilling and continuing education programs.

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