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Gen. John Raymond Becomes Air Force Space Command Chief
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Gen. John Raymond Becomes Air Force Space Command Chief


john_raymond
Gen. John Raymond

Gen. John Raymond, former deputy chief of staff for operations at the U.S. Air Force, has succeeded Gen. John Hyten as leader of Air Force Space Command during a ceremony held Tuesday at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein presided over the ceremony and commended Hyten’s vision for the space and cyber domains, the Air Force said Thursday.

“General Hyten is nothing short of a pioneer, much like Hap Arnold, Chuck Horner, and Bernie Schriever – leaders with extraterrestrial vision,” Goldfein said.

Raymond said he will work to Hyten’s vision of advancement in the Air Force’s space and cyber capabilities.

For his most recent role, he oversaw operational policy for air, space and cyber for the Air Force secretary and chief of staff in Washington, D.C.

Raymond is a former commander of the 30th Operations Group at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the 21st Space Wing at Peterson AFB, the 14th Air Force and Joint Functional Component Command for space.

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Deborah Lee James: Next US Administration Should Decide on the Course of DoD’s Space Investments
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Deborah Lee James: Next US Administration Should Decide on the Course of DoD’s Space Investments


Deborah Lee James
Deborah Lee James

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James has said she believes the next U.S. administration should facilitate the decision-making process when it comes to the direction of the Defense Department’s investments in the space domain.

James made the remarks when she appeared with Army Secretary Eric Fanning and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus at a Center for a New American Security-hosted panel discussion held Monday in Washington, the Air Force said Wednesday.

“Space is terribly important and we have to make some decisions going forward,” James said.

“Some years ago we thought space was a peaceful domain, today we recognize that it is both contested and congested by lots of satellites, debris and all sorts of things,” she added.

James noted that the military branch has started to hire cyber professionals from the private sector to serve in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve on a part-time basis.

She also cited the need for the Air Force to adapt and innovate in response to emerging security threats such as the threat posed by unmanned aircraft systems, according to the report.

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Naval Academy Breaks Ground on Future Cyber Study Center
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Naval Academy Breaks Ground on Future Cyber Study Center


cyber-security-studies-centerThe U.S. Naval Academy has started construction work on a $106 million facility on its campus in Annapolis, Maryland to house classes and research work for students in the field of cybersecurity.

The Navy said Thursday this multi-story academic building will include classrooms, a lecture hall, research labs, a research and testing tank for the engineering and weapons lab and a compartmented intelligence facility space intended to help midshipmen categorize information.

The Center for Cyber Security Studies is part of the academy’s efforts to expand its cybersecurity program, interdisciplinary cyber operations major and mandatory computer network defense courses for midshipmen.

The Navy noted the center will work to deliver real-world training to midshipmen in an effort to prepare them for work against cyber threats.

“This is a significant step in the process of streamlining our cyber education capabilities here at the Naval Academy with the needs of the fleet and Department of Defense,” said Vice Adm. Ted Carter, USNA superintendent.

The center was established as part of the Navy’s efforts to mitigate vulnerabilities, identify intrusions and secure its defense against cyber attacks.

Academy officials, Navy leaders, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland), Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Maryland) and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Maryland) attended the groundbreaking ceremony.

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Tony Scott: White House Unveils Proposed Federal IT Modernization Guidance
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Tony Scott: White House Unveils Proposed Federal IT Modernization Guidance


Tony Scott
Tony Scott

The White House has released draft guidance that details several actions on how federal agencies can develop and execute plans to update their information technology systems.

Federal Chief Information Officer Tony Scott wrote in a blog post published Thursday the Obama administration issued the proposed guidance as part of the Cybersecurity National Action Plan.

The guidance calls for agencies to develop and submit to the Office of Management and Budget “enterprise roadmaps” or strategic plans that provide an overview of the agencies’ IT portfolios as well as identify and prioritize IT systems that require upgrades based on a set of criteria.

Scott said the criteria are based on modernization impact, operational and security risks, ability to execute and business suitability.

The document would also require agencies to create and submit to OMB modernization profiles for high-priority IT platforms.

“Modernization profiles will inform agencies’ regular budget planning processes,” Scott wrote.

Scott said his office will accept public comments on the proposed guidance within 30 days.

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Army Seeks to Help Soldiers Recharge Batteries Through Knee Device; Noel Soto Comments
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Army Seeks to Help Soldiers Recharge Batteries Through Knee Device; Noel Soto Comments


powerwalkThe U.S. Army has developed a bionic knee device designed to help soldiers generate energy and recharge batteries through walking and other knee movements, the Army said Wednesday.

Jane Benson writes the Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center has partnered with Bionic Power to develop the PowerWalk device in support of the Army and U.S. Marine Corps.

“The goal is to reduce the amount of batteries used by soldiers, or to be able to extend the mission with the same load,” said Noel Soto, a project engineer at NSRDEC.

“We have found out through studies that soldiers are carrying a heavy load and a lot of that weight, 16 to 20 pounds for a 72-hour mission, is due to batteries,” Soto added.

NSRDEC and Bionic Power will conduct field trials of the device in 2017, Benson reports.

Project Manager Soldier Warrior oversees the contract, according to the report.

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GAO: DHS’ CIO Office Should Take Principal Role in Joint Requirements Council
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GAO: DHS’ CIO Office Should Take Principal Role in Joint Requirements Council


acquisition policyThe Government Accountability Office has said that the Department of Homeland Security‘s Office of the Chief Information Officer should serve as a principal on the reinstated Joint Requirements Council to help minimize risks in information technology programs.

GAO said Monday a formal and consistent role for OCIO could help address “poorly developed requirements” that served as a factor in DHS’ failed IT programs.

Auditors reviewed efforts of the current JRC, which DHS established in 2008 then reinstated in 2014 to review and manage requirements across department components such as the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection.

GAO found that JRC’s structure and management approach generally aligns with key practices for mergers and organizational transformations.

JRC has started to evaluate DHS components’ capability and requirements documents such as the Coast Guard and CBP’s joint-operational requirements document for a common aircraft mission system.

GAO said some components do not have the capacity to develop capability and requirements documents to submit to JRC and DHS plans to address this issue.

The council also implemented a new joint assessment of requirements process in efforts to prioritize requirements and inform DHS’ investment decisions, according to the congressional watchdog.

JRC will brief senior officials responsible for DHS’ budget requests on the process as it evolves, GAO added.

Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh: Marine Corps Wants Wider Robotic Applications
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Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh: Marine Corps Wants Wider Robotic Applications


robert_walsh
Robert Walsh

Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, deputy commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, sees unmanned systems as tools to help the military branch surpass its enemies in terms of force size, Breaking Defense reported Tuesday.

Sydney Freedberg Jr. writes Walsh has solicited industry input for amphibious systems meant for deployment in the front line in an effort to help minimize casualties in future landing operations.

“Instead of Marines being the first wave in, it’s unmanned robotics, whether it’s in the air or the surface or subsurface,” Walsh told the AUVSI Unmanned Systems Defense conference, according to the report.

He also highlighted other robotic applications the Marine Corps seeks to address such as air and ground operations, Freedberg reports.

Walsh said the Marine Corps seeks a manned fighter to launch drones before it retreats to act as a digital quarterback in order to maintain crew safety during aerial missions, the report says.

He added that the Marines’ Light Armored Reconnaissance troops also work to detect threats on the ground, Breaking Defense reports.

“We find more mass, more affordable, because unmanned systems are going to be less expensive,” Walsh told the conference, Freedberg reports.

NOAA Issues Funds for Weather, Water Hazard Forecasting Tech Transfer; John Cortinas Comments
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NOAA Issues Funds for Weather, Water Hazard Forecasting Tech Transfer; John Cortinas Comments


NOAALogoThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has invested $6 million in a technology transfer initiative to obtain scientific and technological systems from government and academia.

NOAA said Monday it will apply the new systems across the National Weather Service in an effort to aid in weather and water hazards forecasting functions.

“This funding represents another important step to get new tools and technologies more rapidly into the hands of our weather forecasters who serve communities around the nation,” said John Cortinas, director of the NOAA Research Office of Weather and Air Quality.

Scientists and forecasters will coordinate to adapt the methods and tools to NWS forecast models and computers under the Joint Technology Transfer Initiative.

The 2016 grant competition focused on projects that help to predict severe storm and water through forecast models, new observational technologies and methods to integrate data into weather forecast models.

NOAA awarded funds to projects that aim to enhance the accuracy of rainfall estimates and weather forecasts and to use radar to transmit observations and real-time waterway flow alerts to forecasters.

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NASA Goddard Flight Center Team Updates Mission Trajectory Software Tool
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NASA Goddard Flight Center Team Updates Mission Trajectory Software Tool


softwareA tool developed by researchers from NASA‘s Goddard Space Flight Center is now available as an open-source program to help private industry and other agency centers plot a mission’s path to interplanetary destinations.

NASA said Wednesday the Evolutionary Mission Trajectory Generator software tool was updated to support the space agency’s Asteroid Redirect Mission that will send a robot towards a large near-Earth asteroid to collect samples from the asteroid’s surface.

Jacob Englander, EMTG developer, worked with Matthew Vavrina, an a.i. solutions orbital researcher, to boost the tool’s capacity which can now help simultaneously optimize the trajectory and the spacecraft’s hardware, the space agency noted.

“The design of the spacecraft and its trajectory are intertwined — especially those that are electrically propelled,” said Englander.

NASA added the updated tool can help determine trajectories and design characteristics of electrically propelled or low-thrust spacecraft and planners can utilize EMTG to define aspects of high-thrust missions that use chemical propellants as fuel.

Englander also said EMTG has been downloaded thousands of times by NASA centers and private companies that needed a tool to help run preliminary trajectories.

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DARPA-Funded Research Team Seeks to Help Amputees Perceive Levels of Touch Pressure Via Electrical Stimulation
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DARPA-Funded Research Team Seeks to Help Amputees Perceive Levels of Touch Pressure Via Electrical Stimulation


haptixA research team funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has developed a method that uses electrical stimulation to encode intensity levels of touch pressure in the nervous system.

Researchers from the University of Chicago, Case Western Reserve University and Louis R. Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center have implanted nerve interfaces in two amputees’ upper-arm stumps and used pressure sensors on the volunteers’ prosthetic hands to test how the brain interprets the frequency and amplitude of electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves as touch pressure, DARPA said Wednesday.

Study results showed that volunteers could determine various levels of pressure through modulation of nerve fiber stimulation as well as the frequency of electrical stimulation.

DARPA funded the study through the Hand Proprioception and Touch Interfaces program that seeks to develop a prosthetic hand designed to restore natural functionality to wounded veterans.

“Determining how the nervous system encodes the different aspects of touch is an enormous challenge, but with that knowledge we can engineer more capable neural interfaces that could redefine how people interact with tools and machines,” said Doug Weber, HAPTIX program manager.

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