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NASA, DOE’s NNSA Demonstrate New Nuclear Reactor for Space Missions
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NASA, DOE’s NNSA Demonstrate New Nuclear Reactor for Space Missions


NASA, DOE's NNSA Demonstrate New Nuclear Reactor for Space MissionsNASA and the National Nuclear Security Administration under the Department of Energy have jointly conducted a demonstration of a new nuclear reactor system being developed for long-term space missions.

The Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology or KRUSTY is designed as a lightweight fission power system with the capacity to generate a maximum of 10 kilowatts for a decade straight, NASA said Wednesday.

Four Kilopower units are expected to be enough to power an outpost.

In the prototype, a uranium-235 reactor core generates heat that passive sodium heat pipes then transfer to Stirling engines for conversion to electricity.

“Kilopower gives us the ability to do much higher power missions, and to explore the shadowed craters of the Moon,” said Marc Gibson, lead Kilopower engineer at Glenn Research Center.

“When we start sending astronauts for long stays on the Moon and to other planets, that’s going to require a new class of power that we’ve never needed before,” he added.

The experiment for KRUSTY took place at the Nevada National Security Site from November 2017 to March of this year.

NASA intends to transition the project to the Technology Demonstration Mission program in 2020.

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Navy Tests USS Abraham Lincoln’s Combat Systems
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Navy Tests USS Abraham Lincoln’s Combat Systems


Navy Tests USS Abraham Lincoln's Combat Systems

The U.S. Navy has tested various defense platforms of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln over a 13-day period.

The service branch said Thursday it conducted the Combat Systems Ship Qualification Trials from April 20 to May 2 to determine if Lincoln could operate the Enhanced NATO Sea Sparrow Missile System, rolling airframe missile launchers and close-in weapons systems.

CIWS is a 20-millimeter gatling gun that uses a forward-looking infrared camera designed to detect and attack targets.

The system fired at a towed drone unit during a simulated air defense drill and at a high-speed maneuvering seaborne target during a surface engagement drill.

RAM launchers, which are equipped with built-in sensors, fired a RIM-162D Sea Sparrow missile and a RIM-116 test unit during tests.

ENSSMS is a semi-active missile that requires directors to input a feed prior to locating a target.

The carrier re-entered service after it completed a half-life refueling and overhaul maintenance period last year.

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DHS Helps Navy, Coast Guard Evaluate Nat’l Security Cutters
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DHS Helps Navy, Coast Guard Evaluate Nat’l Security Cutters


DHS Helps Navy, Coast Guard Evaluate Nat'l Security CuttersThe Department of Homeland Security‘s science and technology directorate has collaborated with the U.S. Navy and the Coast Guard in the assessment of two National Security Cutters since December.

DHS said Tuesday the directorate helped the Navy’s commander of operational test and evaluation forces to collect and document information needed to evaluate potential impacts of any deficiencies identified on USCGC Hamilton and USCGC James.

Events covered at-sea tests with Coast Guard and Navy fleets over a period of more than two weeks and examined onboard command-and-control technologies and Close-In Weapons Systems, a 57-millimeter deck gun and the Over the Horizon IV and Long Range Interceptor II boats.

S&T and the Navy also conducted Hamilton cybersecurity tests with support from the Energy Department‘s Sandia National Laboratories.

The directorate provides test and evaluation data meant to help DHS’ chief acquisition officer make acquisition decisions.

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SEC Introduces Online Search Tool for Investors; Jay Clayton Comments
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SEC Introduces Online Search Tool for Investors; Jay Clayton Comments


SEC Introduces Online Search Tool for Investors; Jay Clayton CommentsThe Securities and Exchange Commission has introduced a new online search tool to help investors make safe and informed investment decisions and avoid financial scams.

SEC said Wednesday the SEC Action Lookup for Individuals or SALI is designed to identify registered and unregistered individuals who previously faced disciplinary or SEC enforcement actions.

SALI also enables users to identify entities who have settled, defaulted or contested an SEC enforcement judgement if a final order was made against them in a federal court or administrative proceeding.

“One of the SEC’s most important tasks is to arm our investors with the tools necessary to identify potential fraudsters,” SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said.

Clayton added SALI allows Main Street investors to avoid fraud and other investment misconduct.

The current results of the search engine include parties from SEC actions filed between Oct. 1, 2014 and March 31, 2018.

The agency will work to periodically update SALI to add parties from cases before Oct. 1, 2014 and after March 31.

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DoD News: Richard Spencer Talks About Efforts for Navy Modernization
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DoD News: Richard Spencer Talks About Efforts for Navy Modernization


DoD News: Richard Spencer Talks About Efforts for Navy Modernization
Richard Spencer

At a news briefing, U.S. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer discussed the service branch’s progress under the 2018 National Defense Strategy, DoD News reported Wednesday.

The Navy plans to refine processes, employ Congressional acquisition authorizations and partner with industry to support the development of the Navy–Marine Corps team, said Spencer, a 2018 Wash100 recipient.

Spencer discussed the bipartisan budget that President Trump signed into law in March and highlighted the Navy’s need for predictable and consistent funding, the Defense Media Activity unit commented.

He noted the importance of continued investment in Naval service members to enhance global competitiveness.

The DoD briefing also included Spencer’s announcement of a future San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship, named the USS Richard M. McCool after the WW II Medal of Honor recipient.

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Army Seeks to Implement AI-Based Recommendation System for Soldiers
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Army Seeks to Implement AI-Based Recommendation System for Soldiers


Army Seeks to Implement AI-Based Recommendation System for SoldiersThe U.S. Army looks to implement an artificial intelligence technology designed to recommend actions to soldiers in the battlefield, C4ISRNet reported Wednesday.

The report said the Army Research Laboratory has developed a “collaborative filtering” approach similar to the AI method that Amazon and Netflix use to generate user recommendations.

Both companies collect large amounts of user data and offer recommendations in a matter of seconds with AI algorithm, the report added.

Rajgopal Kannan, an ARL research lead, told C4ISRNET he believes the military branch could use the technology on the Next-Generation Combat Vehicle and other cognitive equipment geared for soldiers.

He added the lab aims to incorporate machine learning algorithms and models into a tactical computing framework.

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USAF Identifies Three Potential B-21 Bomber Aircraft Bases
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USAF Identifies Three Potential B-21 Bomber Aircraft Bases


USAF Identifies Three Potential B-21 Bomber Aircraft BasesThe U.S. Air Force has identified three military bases as “reasonable alternative” hosts for the future long-range strike bomber aircraft.

B-21 Raider bombers under development by Northrop Grumman will replace current B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit units stationed at Dyess AFB in Texas, Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota and Whiteman AFB in Missouri, the military branch said Wednesday.

Northrop won the contract in 2015 to produce the new planes.

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, a 2018 Wash100 recipient, said the service branch expects to receive the first B-21 aircraft in the mid-2020s.

Gen. David Goldfein, Air Force chief of staff, said that Raider is designed to carry a conventional and nuclear weapon payloads that work to strike targets.

The Air Force aims to hand down a Raider basing decision after it addresses regulatory and planning compliance requirements mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act.

The branch added it will not retire current bombers until there is an adequate number of B-21s.

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Ellen Lord: DoD to Make Procurement Authorities Clear to Acquisition Workforce
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Ellen Lord: DoD to Make Procurement Authorities Clear to Acquisition Workforce


Ellen Lord: DoD to Make Procurement Authorities Clear to Acquisition Workforce
Ellen Lord

Ellen Lord, defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, has said she plans to look at all procurement authorities and contract vehicles the Defense Department implements in an effort to reform DoD’s business practices, DoD News reported Wednesday.

“Then [we’ll take] examples of how these different acquisition authorities and contract types were used correctly and incorrectly so we can teach [acquisitions] people with real-life examples,” Lord said Tuesday at the DoD Human Capital Symposium.

In addition to reform, she discussed lethality and the need to strengthen partnerships and alliances as the other two lines of effort of the National Defense Strategy.

Lord, a 2018 Wash100 recipient, cited modernization and readiness as the framework of lethality and mentioned the Pentagon’s efforts to upgrade its nuclear triad.

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DOE Launches Quantum Research Program; Rick Perry Comments
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DOE Launches Quantum Research Program; Rick Perry Comments


DOE Launches Quantum Research Program; Rick Perry Comments
Rick Perry

The Energy Department has chosen five Nanoscale Science Research Centers to submit proposals to study quantum computing and information processing methods through a potential three-year, $30 million initiative.

DOE said Wednesday it will provide up to $10 million in grants per year on a competitive basis to help the NSRCs conduct research and obtain equipment under the Quantum Information Science initiative.

The department expects researchers to delve into quantum physics or subatomic reality to provide a substitute to information processing and other systems.

“QIS represents the future in a wide range of fields from computing to physics to materials science, and it will play a major role in shaping the technologies of tomorrow,” Energy Secretary Rick Perry said.

DOE invited the following research centers to pursue QIS grants:

  • The Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Laboratory
  • The Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National Laboratory
  • The Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  • The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • The Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies of Sandia National Laboratory and Los Alamos Laboratory.

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Stratcom, Denmark Agree to Exchange Info & Services for Space Situational Awareness
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Stratcom, Denmark Agree to Exchange Info & Services for Space Situational Awareness


Stratcom, Denmark Agree to Exchange Info & Services for Space Situational AwarenessThe U.S. Strategic Command and Denmark’s defense ministry have signed an agreement to exchange space situational awareness data and services.

The deal expands the number of Stratcom’s global SSA data-sharing partners that include 13 other countries, two intergovernmental bodies and more than 65 commercial satellite operators, the U.S. Air Force said Wednesday.

Maj. Gen. Nina Armagno, director of plans and policy at Stratcom, said cooperation between the U.S. and its allies is key to maintain SSA effectiveness.

“The space domain is a global resource that is best protected and managed collectively,” Armagno added.

SSA data-sharing pacts work to increase multinational cooperation and expedite the process for the command’s partners to obtain information from the 18th Space Control Squadron at Vandenberg AF Base in California.

Participants can use the information to plan satellite maneuvers, assess on-orbit conjunctions, report and investigate electromagnetic interference, decommission satellites and manage on-orbit anomalies.

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