Joseph Shepard, formerly president and managing partner at investment banking services provider Archway Capital Management, has rejoined the Small Business Administration  as associate administrator for the office of investment and innovation.

Shepard’s “previous public sector experience at SBA overseeing the [Small Business Investment Company] program, as well as his private sector experience as a subordinated debt lender and private equity investor in small businesses, is the perfect fit required for this critical lending, investment and oversight position,” SBA Administrator Linda McMahon said in a statement released Wednesday.

In his new role, Shepard will oversee licensing and assessment operations for SBIC, regulatory compliance monitoring, investment policies, recovery of taxpayer capital and divestment of portfolio firms under failed SBICs.

The 20-year investment professional previously served as head of SBA’s office of investment and SBIC program and chair of the agency’s investment committee in which he led the review and selection of new private equity funds and investment managers.

Prior to Archway Capital, he worked as a director at Bank One Capital Markets, which is now part of JP Morgan Chase, and as an investment banker at Principal Financial Securities, now Wells Fargo Securities.

Shepard is a former investment analyst at Texas Capital Firm and a management consultant at KPMG.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has said President Donald Trump will issue an executive order to revive the National Space Council, Space News reported Tuesday.

Jeff Foust writes Pence said Monday at a ceremony for the presidential signing of a NASA authorization bill that Trump asked him to chair the space council that last operated under the George H.W. Bush administration.

Trump signed the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 into law to fund the space agency’s deep-space human exploration, science, technology and aeronautics programs.

Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Oklahoma) said the White House will need time to select members for the National Space Council.

Bridenstine added the interagency council, if relaunched, could help the government address issues such as the transfer of space situational awareness responsibilities from the U.S. Air Force to a civilian agency; use of commercial weather satellite data to support government systems; and the creation of an “America first” space launch policy, according to the report.

President Donald Trump has signed into law a bill that authorizes funding for NASA’s deep-space exploration and discovery missions in the 2017 budget cycle.

The NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 requires the space agency to develop and implement a deep space human exploration plan and invest in science, technology and aeronautics programs, the White House said Monday.

The bill also seeks to ensure that astronauts who participate in space exploration missions will have access to healthcare services.

Congress’ passage of the legislation represents the first comprehensive NASA authorization approved in the last six years.

“NASA would like to thank President Trump for his unwavering support of the agency and express our gratitude to a bipartisan Congress for its thoughtful consideration of NASA’s future,” said Robert Lightfoot, acting NASA administrator.

Lightfoot added the agency “stands ready to meet the challenge of pioneering new frontiers in space.”

NASA has developed an origami-inspired robot designed to fold itself and explore rugged areas deemed “too risky” for rovers.

The agency said Tuesday the Pop-Up Flat Folding Explorer Robot has been tested in various terrains such as the Mojave Desert in California, a ski resort in Colorado and an active volcano in Antartica.

The solar-powered PUFFER robot works to fold its two wheels over the main body to crawl into spaces where rovers cannot fit, NASA added.

PUFFER’s developers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory aim to launch the robot for planetary expeditions such as the Mars mission.

“If Curiosity had a stack of PUFFERs on board, each of them could go to separate spots, and the rover would just go to the most interesting one,” said Kalind Carpenter, a robotics engineer at JPL.

JPL scientists look to add various instruments into PUFFER which could allow the robot to sample water for organic material as well as study the chemical composition of its environment.

PUFFER could also become as large as a breadbox and feature smart technology such as autonomy, NASA said.

JPL manages PUFFER as part of NASA’s Game Changing Development program which aims to explore ideas and approaches that could address technological issues and support future space missions

FBI Director James Comey has informed House Intelligence Committee members that the bureau is looking into Russian attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election and any coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, CNN reported Tuesday.

Stephen Collinson writes Comey told the committee at a Monday hearing that FBI will also investigate if any crimes were committed in the previous U.S. election.

Comey testified at the panel hearing alongside Adm. Mike Rogers, director of the National Security Agency, about ongoing investigations into Russia’s involvement in hacking the elections as well as President Donald Trump’s wiretapping claims against former President Barack Obama.

Reuters reported Tuesday that Trump took to Twitter in early March to claim that Obama had wiretapped his communications during the campaign.

At the meeting, Comey also warned about Russia’s capacity to interfere with future U.S. elections.

“They may be back in 2018,” he said.

“One of the lessons they may draw from this is that they were successful because they introduced chaos and division and discord and sowed doubt about the nature of this amazing country of ours and our democratic process.”