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NASA Seeks New Academic, Nonprofit Partners for CubeSat Launch Initiative
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NASA Seeks New Academic, Nonprofit Partners for CubeSat Launch Initiative


CubeSatA NASA program has opened opportunities for accredited educational institutions and nonprofit organizations to design, build and operate nanosatellites and flight hardware.

NASA said Friday it seeks partners for the next round of its CubeSat Launch Initiative to help facilitate the agency’s research programs in the areas of science, exploration, technology and education.

Interested parties can submit proposals through Nov. 22 and NASA will consider selected experiments as potential auxiliary payloads on agency space missions in 2017, the space agency noted.

The agency deploys CubeSats to support missions on planetary exploration, Earth observation and fundamental Earth and space science.

CSLI was established to create opportunities for small satellite payloads flown as auxiliary payloads on rockets planned for upcoming launches.

DISA Unveils Three-Tiered Approach to Cloud Computing; John Hale Comments
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DISA Unveils Three-Tiered Approach to Cloud Computing; John Hale Comments


cloudThe Defense Information Systems Agency has introduced a three-tiered approach for the military’s cloud computing and security network at a summit held July 26 in Washington.

DISA said Wednesday the three-tiered plan consists of traditional computing, on-premise private cloud and off-premise commercial cloud offerings.

The agency unveiled the plan at the Advanced Technology Academic Research Center’s Federal Cloud Computing Summit where John Hale, chief of DISA’s cloud portfolio in the services development directorate, explained the approach.

Hale said many workloads at present require hardware to work and that modernization must continue despite budget constraints.

The second pillar focuses on the DoD’s goal to migrate to the cloud and protect the department’s sensitive data in an on-premise private cloud.

“There are certain workloads we’ve identified as needing to be ‘on our concrete’ from a data ownership and data management perspective,” said Hale.

Hale added that the third pillar can help in the transitions of mission owner’s workloads to a commercial cloud provider.

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Jeh Johnson: DHS Mulls Cyber Protection For Election System
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Jeh Johnson: DHS Mulls Cyber Protection For Election System


cybersecurityJeh Johnson, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, has said DHS is examining whether the election system needs the agency’s security support against potential cyberattacks, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday.

Nicole Ogrysko writes Johnson told reporters the government should determine whether the election process is a “critical infrastructure” similar to the financial sector or the power grid.

“There is a vital national interest in our election process, so I do think we need to consider whether it should be considered by my department and others as critical infrastructure,” said Johnson.

“I am considering communicating with election officials across the country about best practices in the short term,” he added.

Johnson further said long-term investments are needed t0 support election cybersecurity and address points of concern in the electoral process, Ogrysko reported.

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GSA’s Tiffany Hixson: Bid Protests Unavoidable in Contract Award Processes
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GSA’s Tiffany Hixson: Bid Protests Unavoidable in Contract Award Processes


Tiffany Hixson
Tiffany Hixson

Tiffany Hixson of the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service has described bid protests as an inevitable part of contract award processes, Nextgov reported Tuesday.

Frank Konkel writes GSA officials have noted that bid protests seem unavoidable despite efforts to engage industry throughout the lifecycle of a bidding process.

“I’m just resigned to the fact that this is how it’s going to be,” Hixson told an event hosted by the Association for Federal Information Resources Management, according to the report.

Hixson, regional commissioner of the Northwest Region, called on agencies and directorates to factor in protests period in their acquisition cycles and cited the OASIS conrtact vehicle as an example of a government procurement method that saw at least 20 protests despite industry engagement.

During the event, Hixson also released the government’s new professional services strategic plan for industry comment as part of GSA’s transition to a category management structure, Federal Times reported Thursday.

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Army Tests PACMAN-I Program Manned & Unmanned Robotics Tech; Tollie Strode Comments
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Army Tests PACMAN-I Program Manned & Unmanned Robotics Tech; Tollie Strode Comments


Army-RoboticsU.S. Army soldiers have tested and operated new robotic prototypes at the Pacific Manned-Unmanned Initiative training site as part of a program that lasted more than two weeks.

The Army said Thursday the PACMAN-I program has developed manned and unmanned prototypes with a potential to perform stability and support roles as well as act in combat situations.

“(We) began the process of learning how to fight in formations with robotics to do the things that you would expect those robotics to do… allow us to see further, allow us to shoot at targets,” said Tollie Strode, a senior project officer at the Army Maneuver Center of Excellence.

Soldiers operated the unmanned vehicle system prototypes such as the Net Warrior Future and Multipurpose Unmanned Tactical Transport to execute different types of training scenarios.

Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center engineers and Maneuver Center of Excellence personnel have recorded data on the soldiers’ experiments with the prototypes to help develop future updates for the technologies.

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GAO: OPM Should Clarify Guidance on Supporting Documentation for Telework Costs, Benefits
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GAO: OPM Should Clarify Guidance on Supporting Documentation for Telework Costs, Benefits


workforceThe Government Accountability Office has called on the Office of Personnel Management to clarify guidance for agencies to develop supporting data for the costs and advantages of the government’s telework program.

GAO said Monday sustained operations and reduced employee absences are among the benefits agencies get from telework programs and the costs include training, program managemen and information technology requirements.

For the report, GAO reviewed telecommuting initiatives at the Transportation Department, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., General Services Administration, Merit Systems Protection Board and the Agriculture.

The government watchdog said it found the agencies lack annual data to support the benefits or costs of their telework programs.

GAO noted that the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 “requires an annual assessment of agencies in meeting established outcome goals.”

OPM agreed to the government watchdog’s recommendations such as the inclusion of cost savings questions from previous surveys in the 2016 agency telework survey.

NIAID Starts Human Clinical Trial for Zika Vaccine Candidate; Anthony Fauci Comments
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NIAID Starts Human Clinical Trial for Zika Vaccine Candidate; Anthony Fauci Comments


HealthThe National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has started a series of clinical trials on humans to examine a potential vaccine candidate NIAID hopes can help counter the Zika virus.

NIAID started the trials to evaluate how the vaccine creates an immune system response in more than 80 healthy volunteers that will participate in the trials to be conducted at the Bethesda, Maryland-based National Institues of Health Clinical Center and two other sites, NIH said Wednesday.

The investigational vaccine contains plasmid, a circular piece of DNA engineered to code for proteins of the Zika virus.

“Although it will take some time before a vaccine against Zika is commercially available, the launch of this study is an important step forward,” said Anthony Fauci, NIAID director.

Julie Ledgerwood, chief of the Vaccine Research Center’s clinical trials program, will lead the first phase of the trial that will divide participants into four groups of 20 volunteers each to receive a vaccination via a needle-free injector.

The Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Institute for Global Health in Baltimore and Emory University in Atlanta are two other study sites.

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Military News: 41 Service Members Test Positive for Zika Virus
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Military News: 41 Service Members Test Positive for Zika Virus


Military News: 41 Service Members Test Positive for Zika VirusDefense Department records have shown 41 service members, including a pregnant woman, have been diagnosed with the Zika virus since DoD began to monitor infections this year, Military News reported Wednesday.

Patricia Kime writes U.S. Air Force Maj. Benjamin Sakrisson confirmed that affected troops contracted the virus outside the continental U.S. and that DoD continues to track at-risk military installations.

“[We are actively testing mosquitoes] as part of our ongoing integrated vector control and surveillance programs at bases and installations,” Sakrisson said, according to the report.

Seven military family members also tested positive for Zika and were infected outside the U.S., Kime reports.

The report said approximately 200 U.S. military installations are located in areas where Zika-carrying mosquitoes have been found.

DoD began to monitor installations for the mosquito species that can carry the Zika virus in March.

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research currently works with Sanofi Pasteur to develop and manufacture a Zika vaccine.

Bureau of Engraving and Printing Looks for Associate Director to Oversee IT Programs
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Bureau of Engraving and Printing Looks for Associate Director to Oversee IT Programs


JobAdThe Bureau of Engraving and Printing has kicked off search for a new associate director who will oversee the bureau’s information technology systems, networks, system authorization and policies and procedures.

According to notice published Monday on USAJobs, the BEP Associate Director (Chief Information Officer) will work to administer IT budgets, capital investments, security, certification and accreditation.

The role also entails management of the bureau’s information systems security program in compliance with the Computer Security Act, an Office of Management and Budget circular and the Federal Information Security Management Act.

A selected candidate will also be responsible for the design, content and maintenance of the intranet, internet websites and electronic commerce portals of the bureau.

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FAA Seeks New Air Traffic Control Specialists
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FAA Seeks New Air Traffic Control Specialists


Federal aviation administration (FAA)The Federal Aviation Administration seeks an estimated 1,400 new air traffic control specialists and will accept entry-level candidate applications for the position from Aug. 8 to 15.

The new ATCS will undergo an intensive training program in their first months of employment at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma to prepare them for their future tasks of managing air traffic across the U.S. airspace, the agency said Tuesday.

They will control live air traffic within the designated airspace around an air route traffic control center, air traffic control tower or radar approach control facility.

The job vacancy announcement for the ATCS-trainee position will be available on the government’s official job site USAJobs.gov and FAA expects to receive at least 25,000 applications.

Candidates who are graduates of a Collegiate Training Initiative program are asked to provide proof of graduation and a recommendation from the CTI institution, while veteran candidates should provide a certificate of release or discharge from active duty within 120 days after the close of the application period.

FAA works to regulate the aviation industry to support the safety of passengers as they travel through the country’s airspace.

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