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Space News: Incoming Administration Considers Rep. Jim Bridenstine for NASA, Air Force Leadership Posts
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Space News: Incoming Administration Considers Rep. Jim Bridenstine for NASA, Air Force Leadership Posts


Jim Bridenstine
Jim Bridenstine

Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Oklahoma) is one of the potential candidates for the NASA administrator position and secretary of the U.S. Air Force under the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, Space News reported Friday.

Jeff Foust writes Bridenstine is a former U.S. Navy pilot who introduced in April the American Space Renaissance Act, a bill that seeks to implement a “holistic” approach to space policy and covers commercial space, civil and national security issues.

Bridenstine, who also serves in the Oklahoma Air National Guard, has also supported the “enhanced payload review” concept that is based on the Federal Aviation Administration’s payload assessment process for commercial launch licenses, Foust reports.

During his Nov. 2 speech at a Lunar Exploration Analysis Group meeting in Maryland, he suggested regulatory changes to help commercial space firms launch their own missions and expressed support to moon exploration missions by NASA, according to the report.

The report said former astronaut Eileen Collins is also being considered for the NASA chief post.

Mark Albrecht, former executive secretary of the National Space Council during President George H.W. Bush’s administration, oversees the NASA transition team for the next administration and may also be considered for the administrator post at the space agency, the report added.

SBA, DoD Unveil Online Forum for Military Spouse Entrepreneurs via LinkedIn
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SBA, DoD Unveil Online Forum for Military Spouse Entrepreneurs via LinkedIn


PeopleThe Defense Department and Small Business Administration have introduced an online forum for military spouse entrepreneurs to connect with business mentors through LinkedIn as part of DoD’s Spouse Education and Career Opportunities Program.

SBA said Friday that affiliated mentors, military spouse business owners and DoD certified career counselors can use the platform starting Jan. 2, 2017 to share information, offer advice and answer inquiries regarding business ownership on a rotating basis.

“SBA offers many resources for military spouses who are considering self-employment through small business ownership,” said Barbara Carson, associate administrator of SBA’s veterans business development office.

“SBA is dedicated to working with our partners to help military spouses find meaningful, sustainable employment through small business ownership.”

DoD established the Spouse Education Career Opportunities program to help military spouses worldwide access tools and resources on career exploration, education, training and licensing as well as employment readiness and career connections.

Military spouses interested to join the online forum can request to join the group via this link.

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Jim Baker: FBI Uses Data on Mobile Devices, Computers to Aid Investigations
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Jim Baker: FBI Uses Data on Mobile Devices, Computers to Aid Investigations


mobile securityJim Baker, the FBI’s general counsel, has revealed the law enforcement agency is able to access data stored in some mobile devices and computers during the course of an investigation, Motherboard reported Friday.

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai writes Baker told a public meeting on encryption in Washington D.C. that the FBI came across security codes in 2,095 out of 6,814 mobile devices examined by the bureau’s forensic laboratory between Oct. 1, 2015 and Sept. 30, 2016.

The report said federal investigators managed to unlock 1,210 of the 2,095 locked devices they encountered during the same period.

Kevin Bankston, the director of the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute, told Motherboard that these figures suggest encryption poses a problem in a few criminal investigation cases even if the system is activated on mobile devices by default.

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NASA to Present Supercomputing Projects at Utah HPC Conference
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NASA to Present Supercomputing Projects at Utah HPC Conference


Computer-EngineeringNASA will highlight results of various agency research and supercomputing projects at SC16, an international high-performance computing conference scheduled to take place in Salt Lake City, Utah from Nov. 14 to 17.

Professionals from five NASA centers will present 40 mission projects that use the space agency’s HPC resources such as complex aerodynamic simulations of helicopter rotor blade-tip vortices, shifting ozone patterns simulations and modeling and simulation systems, NASA said Thursday.

The agency also plans to exhibit three-dimensional models and visualizations during the event to provide insights into the sun’s magnetic field cycle and other solar incidents.

“NASA supercomputers are critical to helping scientists around the world gain new knowledge and understanding of our complex world and the universe,” said Piyush Mehrotra, chief of the advanced supercomputing division at the Ames Research Center in California.

NASA also updated its Pleiades supercomputer to increase the system’s power to 246,048 cores and performance to 7.25 petaflops in efforts to address modeling and simulation requirements of the agency’s aeronautics, exploration and science programs.

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Army to Develop Airborne Bomb Squad to Address Global Contingencies; Aaron Golson Comments
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Army to Develop Airborne Bomb Squad to Address Global Contingencies; Aaron Golson Comments


explosive-disposalThe U.S. Army is working to establish an airborne bomb squad with the capacity to respond to global contingencies as fast as the 82nd Airborne Division and the Global Response Force, Army Times reported Wednesday.

Meghann Myers writes the 767th Ordnance Company, 192nd Ordnance Battalion have completed the Army’s first conventional explosive ordnance disposal operations with members of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.

Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Golson said in an interview with Army Times that the development of an Army airborne disposal unit can lead to collaboration between technicians and paratroopers that will respond to conflicts on the ground and help protect troops from conventional ordnance and improvised explosive devices.

“The purpose of us jumping in is to offer EOD support earlier on in the joint force entry operations, and that’s what the 82nd does,” said Golson.

“EOD’s role in support of the [Global Response Force] is a lot of protecting the force during rapid threat assessment … Once our guys jump in, they’re looking at threats the force may encounter,” added Capt. Zachary Abood, commander of the 767th Ordnance Company.

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White House Seeks $11.6B in Additional Overseas War Funds
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White House Seeks $11.6B in Additional Overseas War Funds


ArmyChopperThe White House has requested $11.6 billion in additional funds for overseas contingency operations, Defense News reported Thursday.

Aaron Mehta writes the supplemental request brings the total of the OCO budget proposal for fiscal year 2017 to $85.3 billion and comes in two budget amendment requests worth $5.8 billion each.

The first amendment request seeks to help the Defense Department support the campaign against the Islamic State militant organization in Iraq and Syria as well as offer assistance to the Afghan national defense and security forces, according to the report.

The second budget amendment would help the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development provide non-military assistance in support of the anti-Islamic State campaign efforts, Mehta reports.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter called on Congress to fund the supplemental budget request in order to sustain the “positive momentum” in Iraq against the militant group, the report added.

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Air Force’s Deanna Ryals: DoD Eyes International Partnerships to Support Military Satcom Operations
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Air Force’s Deanna Ryals: DoD Eyes International Partnerships to Support Military Satcom Operations


WidebandGlobalA U.S. Air Force satellite communications official has said the Defense Department believes in the role of allied countries in the development and operation of military satcom systems and in efforts to achieve “resilience” in satcom operations, Space News reported Thursday.

Peter B. de Selding writes Deanna Ryals, chief of the international military satcom division at the Air Force’s milsatcom systems directorate, made the remarks Wednesday at the SMi Group-hosted Global Milsatcom conference in London.

“If we can move between our own milsatcom capabilities, commercial capabilities and allied capabilities, it makes it difficult for our adversaries to know where we are,” Ryals told event attendees.

Ryals noted that DoD asked 16 allied nations to participate in the Wideband Analysis of Alternatives that seeks to address a possible shortage in wideband capacity and that approximately eight of those invited international partners said they would take part in the analysis, de Selding reports.

She also cited that approximately six international governments participated in the 10th Schriever Wargame 2016 exercise held by the Air Force Space Command in Alabama, the report added.

FirstNet Opens Public Safety Network Test Lab in Colorado
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FirstNet Opens Public Safety Network Test Lab in Colorado


FirstNetThe First Responder Network Authority has opened a test laboratory in Boulder, Colorado as part of FirstNet’s preparation for the implementation of a national emergency services network.

The FirstNet Innovation and Test Lab will serve as a hub for the agency and its contractor to test public safety features, devices and applications prior to deployment on the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, FirstNet said Wednesday.

The agency issued a request for proposals on the project in January.

“When first responders are racing to help in disasters and emergencies, they need communications tools that are tested and proven to work,” said Jeff Bratcher, FirstNet chief technology officer.

FirstNet will use the lab to validate testing for the network, services and features as well as to facilitate future broadband-related research and development efforts.

The lab is built to support a training and experience center that will be established to help provide hands-on training, demonstration and user evaluation of future FirstNet network applications.

Lisa Schlosser to Retire as Federal Deputy CIO
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Lisa Schlosser to Retire as Federal Deputy CIO

 

Lisa Schlosser
Lisa Schlosser

Lisa Schlosser is set to retire from the Office of Management and Budget as federal deputy chief information officer by the end of November, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.

Jason Miller writes Schlosser will leave the government after she completed her stint at the Office of Personnel Management as acting CIO and led the establishment of the OMB’s cyber unit.

She joined OMB as deputy CIO in 2011, with responsibility in promoting digital services and agile development, shared services and cybersecurity.

Schlosser also previously served the principal deputy associate administrator in the Office of External Affairs and Environmental Education and the director of the Office of Information Collection in the Office of Environmental Information at the Environmental Protection Agency.

She was also a CIO at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and associate CIO and chief information security officer at the Transportation Department.

She worked for Global Integrity and Ernst & Young after she served as a military intelligence officer at the U.S. Army.

 

Israel, DOE Invest in 5 Clean Energy Projects via Binational R&D Effort
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Israel, DOE Invest in 5 Clean Energy Projects via Binational R&D Effort


clean-energyThe U.S. Energy Department and the Israeli government have invested a total of $4 million in five clean energy projects through the Binational Industrial Research and Development  Energy program.

The investments build on a partnership between DOE and Israel’s ministry of national infrastructure, energy and water resources under the U.S. Israel Energy Dialogue that seeks to promote the use of clean energy technologies and foster natural gas regulations.

“The collaboration through BIRD Energy… will help both nations continue to work together to foster research and development efforts, build on the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement and drive down the costs of clean energy technologies,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

Recipients of funds under the BIRD Energy initiative include:

  • BrightSource Industries and Dynamis Solutions
  • CelDezyner and POET Research
  • Solview Systems and Yarotek PR
  • Technion IIT and Pajarito Powder
  • Waves Audio and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Each team will work to address energy challenges and opportunities of interest to Israel and the U.S. through the development and commercialization of clean energy technologies.

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