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NASA Assessing Potential Operators for Astrobee Free-Flying Robotic System
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NASA Assessing Potential Operators for Astrobee Free-Flying Robotic System

NASA is looking into government, academic and commercial organizations from the U.S. interested in operating the Astrobee free-flying robotic system and has issued a request for information for the effort.

The flying robots are deployed aboard the International Space Station where, since 2018, they have worked to help astronauts and researchers carry out a variety of tasks, including scientific investigations and technology demonstrations, NASA said Monday.

According to the RFI, the space agency plans to hand over Astrobee operations to a partner organization via an unfunded Space Act Agreement. That partner organization will facilitate third party access to and use of the robotic system.

Under the agreement, NASA will retain ownership of Astrobee but provide government resources for support, including hardware and spares; technology assessments and demonstrations; planning, integration and testing; and community support.

For its part, the Astrobee operator will shoulder planning, use and sustainment costs, and provide various support services as well, including hardware and software maintenance.

Interested parties have until Sept. 27 to respond.

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DIU Seeking Gen AI Solutions to Accelerate, Enhance DOD Joint Planning
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DIU Seeking Gen AI Solutions to Accelerate, Enhance DOD Joint Planning

The Defense Innovation Unit has issued a solicitation for generative artificial intelligence solutions to accelerate and enhance the Department of Defense’s joint planning efforts.

The desired Gen AI capability is expected to speed up data processing, produce draft planning products and provide expanded options for human planners and command personnel, DIU said.

The solutions must also ensure that AI-generated content advances the commander’s objectives, maintains operational security, verifies the accuracy of AI-supplied information and allows human planners to engage with AI systems, the unit added.

Specifically, the government requires solutions to support information synthesis and analysis, plan development, course of action development and wargaming, and operational security and information assurance.

DIU said it will prioritize submissions from companies that can enhance planning processes and use responsible AI practices.

The agency will also consider solutions from potential partners capable of integrating with existing or new joint planning processes and providing strategies for testing, evaluating and building trust in AI capabilities.

DIU will accept proposed solutions until Sept. 6.

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VA’s Jeffrey Neill to Headline 2024 Healthcare Summit
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VA’s Jeffrey Neill to Headline 2024 Healthcare Summit

On Dec. 11, the foremost healthcare experts, decision makers and leaders in the U.S. will come together to discuss the future of the healthcare sector and the factors that influence it at the 2024 Healthcare Summit. Department of Veterans Affairs leader Jeffrey Neill will participate in the event as a keynote speaker. Read below to learn more about Neill, his career and his priorities in his current role at the VA.

Who Is Jeffrey Neill?

Jeffrey Neill is the associate executive director and head of contracting activity for the VA’s Technology Acquisition Center, known as TAC. In this capacity, Neill is responsible for providing business and contracting solutions for the VA’s major information technology programs. He was appointed to his current role in June 2024 and has been with the VA since October 2023.

Prior to his time at the VA, Neill was the alternate senior contracting official for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he oversaw a $100 billion portfolio, four USACE divisions, about 800 contracting employees and $18 billion in annual contracting awards. Before taking on that role, Neill served as the chief of contracting for the USACE’s Fort Worth, Texas and Galveston, Texas districts.

What Is the VA Technology Acquisition Center (TAC)?

Headquartered in Eatontown, New Jersey, the VA TAC is an organization of acquisition professionals that work to support business and contracting solutions for the department’s key IT programs. The TAC is home of the VA’s IT Acquisition Innovation Lab, and it’s organized into four main divisions: Contracting, Engineering, Customer Service and Operations.

The center’s customers include the VA’s digital service team, the VA Center for Innovation, the VA Office of Information and Technology, the Veterans Benefits Administration, the Veterans Health Administration, the National Cemetery Administration and other federal agencies.

VA TAC Contracts

Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology-Next Generation (T4NG)

The TAC manages several key IT contract vehicles, including T4NG, which is a multi-agency contract. The most recent iteration of the contract, T4NG2, covers cybersecurity, healthcare IT, strategy planning, enterprise network engineering, operations and maintenance, program management and systems and software engineering support services.

In October 2023, 30 companies secured positions on the potential 10-year, $60.7 billion T4NG2 contract vehicle. According to the VA, the TAC achieved cost efficiencies estimated at $627 million in fiscal year 2021 under the T4NG program.

Financial Management Business Transformation (FMBT)

The FMBT program is the VA’s plan to modernize its legacy Financial Management Systems. FMBT will “allow for the procurement of a full range of integrated program management services” to support the VA, according to the agency’s website.

Deloitte won a $219 million FMBT contract from the VA TAC in November 2023.

Hear From Jeffrey Neill at the 2024 Healthcare Summit

Learn more about VA TAC contract opportunities, priorities and strategies at the 2024 Healthcare Summit hosted by the Potomac Officers Club on Dec. 11. Visit the Healthcare Summit event page for more information on speakers and sessions, and register today to save your spot!

VA’s Jeffrey Neill to Headline 2024 Healthcare Summit
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GovCon Index Recorded 2nd Consecutive Week of Growth
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GovCon Index Recorded 2nd Consecutive Week of Growth

Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index grew by 1.23% last week, closing with an average of $5,409.28.

GovCon Index gathers and displays real-time stock market data from 30 key government contracting companies. This information provides users with a glimpse into the financial performance of each organization and a look at the broad trends currently shaping the GovCon market.

V2X recorded gains of 16.10% last week, earning the enterprise the top spot in the ranks. Kratos, which grew by 7.07%, was second. Third and fourth place were claimed by Booz Allen Hamilton (+4.69%) and Leidos (+4.44%), and fifth was taken by Maximus (+3.64%).

Though last week’s increase did not happen steadily, gains on Monday, Wednesday and Friday overshadowed the losses GovCon Index experienced on Tuesday and Thursday. Last week marked week two of a developing growth trend.

Check out last week’s market reports to get the full story on daily GovCon Index performance. To access the full list of tracked companies, click here.

Former Congressman Mike Gallagher Looks to Leverage Experience in New Role at Palantir
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Former Congressman Mike Gallagher Looks to Leverage Experience in New Role at Palantir

As Mike Gallagher enters his new position leading Palantir Technologies‘ defense business, he aims to help advance the company’s defense technology ecosystem and create a pipeline for the company to enter domains like space, Nextgov said Friday.

The former Wisconsin congressman spearheaded the House Armed Services Committee and was a lead commissioner on the Congress-mandated Cyberspace Solarium Commission before deciding to leave politics after serving four terms.

In his new role, Gallagher said he would like to build on Palantir’s recent achievements, including being selected for the Army’s Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node, or TITAN, contract.

“We want to enhance near-term deterrence at a time when we’re over the long-term struggling to recapitalize our submarine fleet in these big platforms, we’re going to have to deploy cutting-edge, innovative technology and get it into the hands of the warfighter as quickly as possible,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher also said he sees a “huge opportunity” to promote AUKUS pillar 2 as an initiative among global allies to align all parties in pursuing defensive resilience. He emphasized the benefits of Palantir’s ability to create successful partnerships throughout the Department of Defense.

“Defense primes are going to continue to exist. And that’s good for America. That’s healthy,” Gallagher stated. “And if we can collaborate and pair cutting-edge Palantir software with some of the legacy systems or next-generation systems and hardware that those companies produce, I think that’s great for not just the American industry, but again, the warfighter. And it all comes down to the warfighter.”

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National Spectrum Consortium Opens Forums to Solicit Inputs for Spectrum Band Studies
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National Spectrum Consortium Opens Forums to Solicit Inputs for Spectrum Band Studies

The National Spectrum Consortium and the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration are collaborating in a series of multi-stakeholder meetings to gather inputs for spectrum band studies that the National Spectrum Strategy mandates.

The forums’ first meeting, which was held on Friday, sought ideas from the public on a study of the 3.1–3.45 gigahertz and 7.125–8.4 GHz bands, the NSC said.

The schedule of the forum, organized under the under the Interagency Spectrum Advisory Council, will be approximately once every two months.

The agenda of future meetings will center on drawing from industry and academia such specifics as spectrum use cases, current technology solutions and coexistence scenarios along with technical inputs for feasible coexistence.

Joe Kochan, NSC CEO, expressed confidence that the capabilities of the consortium’s diverse membership could contribute to the government’s spectrum management efforts.

“We look forward to working with NTIA to convene these partners and to focus resources and efforts on meeting the goals of the National Spectrum Strategy,” he said.

Shiva Goel, the NTIA’s senior adviser for spectrum policy, underscored the agency’s commitment to the multi-stakeholder approach.

“To design and implement smart spectrum strategy, we need input from the best and brightest in the wireless world — across federal agencies, academia, the private sector and public interest,” he said.

The White House issued the strategy in November 2023, tasking the NTIA with the lead role in ensuring spectrum availability to support federal agencies and the private sector.

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DHS S&T Must Improve Critical Infrastructure R&D Project Management, Says OIG
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DHS S&T Must Improve Critical Infrastructure R&D Project Management, Says OIG

The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General has released an audit report calling out the DHS Science and Technology Directorate for deficiencies in its management of research and development activities concerning critical infrastructure security and resilience.

R&D Management Issues

In the report, which was released Aug. 20, the DHS OIG flagged the S&T Directorate for its failure to use a risk-based, holistic approach in prioritizing critical infrastructure R&D projects across the agency; its failure to follow its own project management policies as well as established PM principles; and its reliance on inaccurate or incomplete information when managing CI R&D.

The report attributed these issues to S&T’s having not established or updated department-wide strategic priorities, depending instead on component-based R&D prioritization processes; the directorate’s lack of a formal process to validate the quality of PM data; and the directorate’s having not ensured adherence to best practices in PM.

Implications

The issues raise questions about S&T’s ability to support the critical infrastructure R&D needs of the DHS and the directorate’s ability to effectively manage the $157.5 million in funding provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for critical infrastructure research efforts.

Recommendations

To address the issues, the OIG offered four recommendations:

  1. The identification of an entity responsible for updating and publishing CI R&D strategic plans and annual homeland threat assessments
  2. The establishment of a formal, risk-based process featuring strategic plans and threat assessments for the prioritization of research projects
  3. The development and implementation of improved controls to ensure compliance with program and project management principles
  4. The development and implementation of data validation controls

S&T officials concurred with the OIG’s recommendations.

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Allen Hill Says IT Modernization, Zero Trust Among His Focus Areas at FCC
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Allen Hill Says IT Modernization, Zero Trust Among His Focus Areas at FCC

Allen Hill, the Federal Communications Commission’s chief information officer, said he has focused on information technology modernization, zero trust architecture, full stack observability and operational efficiency in the past two years to modernize mission areas and improve customer service delivery, Federal News Network reported Friday.

“How do we bring in the technologies and optimize them? For example, we have moved out three-fourths of our servers of the data center. We had about 1,200 when I came here and now we are in a multi cloud environment. We’re going to finish the rest by end of year,” Hill said at a recent webinar.

The CIO discussed how performing a gap analysis and taking a portfolio product approach have enabled his office to evaluate its capabilities and determine its next steps.

Hill said the commission has nine active sponsorships under the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program and is using a software-defined network to back its future state.

The former General Services Administration official also discussed FCC’s application rationalization efforts as part of its technology modernization initiative.

“It’s called reengineering, but we want to minimize how we take old technology and put it in some type of container that’s keeping the old technology. We want the technology to be able to be used in native state in the cloud,” Hill said. “We want to get to the modern and operational efficiency aspects of the technologies and take the old technologies and collapse them.”

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Fall 2024 Accelerator Launched for Air Force Digital Modernization
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Fall 2024 Accelerator Launched for Air Force Digital Modernization

Catalyst Accelerator Ogden, a defense and national security industry accelerator, along with the Department of the Air Force and the Digital Transformation Office launched the Fall 2024 Accelerator on Aug. 19.

CAO said Friday the program aims to address the digital modernization of the U.S. Air Force. The Fall 2024 Accelerator will culminate with the Demo Day, held on Nov. 14, 2024, at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.

The organizers started accepting applications for the Fall 2024 Accelerator back in June. Eleven small businesses from across the nation were selected to join the program this year by a team of CAO officials, government authorities and industry professionals.

The participating companies are as follows:

  • 40 North Labs
  • Acropolis Security
  • FibrX
  • GeoCognition
  • GetChkd
  • GoKnown
  • IQumulus
  • Kinnami Software
  • More Cowbell Unlimited
  • SC Tech
  • Villa-Tech

According to the DTO, the Air Force requires technological innovations to help modernize its operations and strengthen its defense against cyber threats. The DTO identified several key areas that need to be addressed, including, artificial intelligence and machine learning, data infusion and integration, automation and cybersecurity.

Pioneering companies were asked to develop innovations aimed at optimizing predictive maintenance, utilizing data integration to enhance situational awareness, streamlining operations through automation and reinforcing the service’s cybersecurity capabilities.

The participating companies will collaborate with authorities in fields related to their technologies, including mentors from the government and commercial sectors. The companies will also be provided with the tools and connections to aid them in developing their technology and establishing a foothold in the national defense ecosystem.

On October 10, Potomac Officers Club presents the first-ever GovCon International Summit. Listen to government and industry speakers from across the globe, the DOD and the U.S. combatant commands as they discuss the latest on the defense landscape. Register here.

Fall 2024 Accelerator Launched for Air Force Digital Modernization
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DCMA Uses Automation to Handle Voluminous 1797 Requests
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DCMA Uses Automation to Handle Voluminous 1797 Requests

More than 75 Defense Contract Management Agency contract management office, or CMO, locations are now using a system that works to automate the receiving, tracking and notification of 1797 requests, which the agency receives in high volumes.

According to a news article posted Friday on the DCMA website, the automation system, which now forms part of the 1106 Request System Performance Dashboard, is an upgraded version of a tool used at the former Manassas CMO, now known as DCMA Mid-Atlantic.

The tool from Manassas was selected following a screening process that saw participation from multiple CMOs, which demonstrated their systems.

The selected tool was upgraded based on feedback from the 30 participating CMOs in a beta test that took place from December 2022 through March 2023.

Among the proposed upgrades was the option to send a request to a single technician. Regarding the proposal, Equip Team member Angelyn McKeever said, “This was how some of the CMOs were already set up, so we wanted to accommodate them as much as possible.”

The Equip Team handled the selection of and upgrades to the automation system.

The tool was subsequently further improved with the addition of a dashboard that organizes and displays previous requests. The dashboard also benefits requestors and technicians by improving their reporting capabilities and, in the case of the latter, by serving as a source of workload information.

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