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NASA Seeks In-Space Spacecraft Assembly Concepts From University Students
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NASA Seeks In-Space Spacecraft Assembly Concepts From University Students


NASA In-Space AssemblyNASA has invited university student teams and their faculty advisers to design and analyze concepts that utilize modular space systems and robotic technology for in-space spacecraft assembly.

NASA’s Game Changing Development Program and the National Institute of Aerospace seek ideas for the development of tugs that are powered by solar electric propulsion and would work to transfer payloads to a lunar distant retrograde orbit from low Earth orbit, NASA said Tuesday.

The quest is part of the 2017 Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-changing Idea Challenge and interested participants are required to submit proposals by Nov. 30.

NASA said a panel of experts will select four finalist teams to submit technical papers on their concepts and prepare a presentation for the BIG Idea Forum in February, for which they will get a $6,000 stipend.

The space agency added it will offer the winning team paid internships with the GCD team at the Langley Research Center to develop and mature their concept.

A few concepts NASA wants participants to use in the challenge include approaches for packaging modules to minimize the loads of launch vehicles, modular solar arrays and ion engines as well as robotic assembly of the modules that constitute the SEP tug.

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USS Gerald Ford Sailors Finish Advanced Arresting Gear Training
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USS Gerald Ford Sailors Finish Advanced Arresting Gear Training


Advanced Arresting Gear TrainingU.S. Navy sailors from the USS Gerald R. Ford pre-commissioning unit have completed the Advanced Arresting Gear operator and maintainer initial training program held at New Jersey-based test facilities.

Nineteen sailors graduated during the second round of the six-week training course after 20 sailors completed the training in April and another previous set of crew members underwent a senior leadership training course in August 2015, the Naval Air Systems Command said Friday.

“The intent of the training is to provide students with the most shipboard-representative, hands-on and job-related training possible in order to prepare them for system turnover on board CVN 78,” said Dan Andreoli, AAG training lead.

Christopher Boone, aircraft launch and recovery maintenance chief, added the sailors will be able to work with the system directly as well as with NAVAIR engineers and AAG subject matter experts.

The training consolidates classroom instruction with operation and maintenance laboratory work as well as walk-throughs at the jet car track site and runway arrested landing site and eventually include formal schoolhouse training, NAVAIR said.

AAG, which succeeds the legacy MK -7 arresting gear, uses a rotary hydroelectric system with an additional friction brake system.

USS Harry Truman to Undertake Planned Incremental Availability for Maintenance, Modernization Work
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USS Harry Truman to Undertake Planned Incremental Availability for Maintenance, Modernization Work

USS Harry S TrumanThe USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier is set to undertake a 10-month planned incremental availability for maintenance and modernization work at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard starting Sept. 27.

The availability will require close to 499,773 man-days with 51 percent of the work shouldered by contractors, alteration installation teams and the ship’s force, including the NNSY 2015 Truman team, the U.S. Navy said Thursday.

The PIA team will also update the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services tactical network that works to support the ship’s operations.

“Because Truman’s last availability at NNSY was condensed, significant maintenance was deferred, making this a large and complex availability,” said Bobby Leigh, deputy project superintendent.

Mike Jennings, Truman project superintendent, said the Navy will partner with Huntington Ingalls Industries to perform work during the availability.

HII will support the modernization, replacement and repair of USS Harry S. Truman’s nuclear propulsion systems and specialized systems under a $52.4 million cost-plus-fixed-fee Navy contract.

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Ron Thompson: VA’s Cloud Procurement Cycle Nears Completion
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Ron Thompson: VA’s Cloud Procurement Cycle Nears Completion


cloudITRon Thompson, principal deputy chief information officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs, has said VA expects to make progress in cloud acquisition efforts this month, FCW reported Friday.

Chase Gunter writes Thompson told an industry event hosted by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association’s Northern Virginia Chapter Thursday that cloud has been enabling VA’s ongoing information technology modernization project.

He added VA works to transform IT infrastructure, fill critical positions and improve supply chain management at the department, according to the report.

The report said the department kicked off its cloud procurement process in July using a vendor list from the NIH Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center.

“We are in the tail end of that acquisition cycle right now,” Thompson said.

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US, South Korea Vow to Uphold UN Sanctions on North Korea
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US, South Korea Vow to Uphold UN Sanctions on North Korea


partnershipPresident Barack Obama said the U.S. will team up with South Korea and other allies in efforts to ensure that the latest United Nations sanctions against North Korea’s missile launches are implemented fully.

Obama said in his remarks published Tuesday that both he and South Korean President Park Geun-hye condemn what he calls the “provocations” by North Korea.

“North Korea’s nuclear test earlier this year and continued missile launches are fundamentally threatening the security of both the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia,” said Park.

“The United States and [South] Korea have agreed to faithfully implement U.N. Security Council resolutions and further strengthen our efforts to seal the loopholes and sanctions implementation.”

Park also said the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2270 will help deter the advancement of North Korea’s nuclear and missile capacity.

The South Korean leader added she has agreed with Obama to extend cooperation on global health, climate change and space as well as expand roles in areas such as peacekeeping operations and development to boost overall U.S.-South Korea relations.

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GAO: DoD Should Monitor National Guard’s Cyber Response Capabilities Through a Database
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GAO: DoD Should Monitor National Guard’s Cyber Response Capabilities Through a Database


cybersecurityThe Government Accountability Office has called on the Defense Department to maintain a database to keep track of National Guard’s emergency response capabilities in support of civil agencies during a cyber attack.

GAO said in a report published Tuesday DoD should also carry out a “tier 1” exercise that would involve combatant commanders and organizations at the national level in order to help prepare its personnel for disasters with cyber and physical effects.

The tier 1 exercise would also help the Pentagon assess response capabilities, test response plans and address challenges in previous exercises that seek to support civil authorities during a cyber incident, the congressional audit agency said.

GAO made the recommendations after it found that DoD has encountered difficulties in prior cyber exercises, such as inadequate integration of joint physical-cyber scenarios and limited participant access.

The report also cited cyber units, computer network defense groups and communications directorates as the three cyber capability types that are present in National Guard units.

Some of the DoD-backed cyber exercises that seek to support civil agencies in the event of a cyber attack include the U.S. Cyber Command’s Cyber Guard 15, Army National Guard’s Cyber Shield 2015 and the Vista Host II exercise of the U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, the report added.

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Report: DoD Wants to Reprogram $100M in Funds to Address Weapons Security Issues
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Report: DoD Wants to Reprogram $100M in Funds to Address Weapons Security Issues


Cyber QuestThe Defense Department plans to redirect $100 million in funds toward efforts that seek to detect cyber threats in weapon systems, Defense News reported Thursday.

Joe Gould writes DoD Comptroller Mike McCord issued an Aug. 29 notice to inform Congress of the Pentagon’s plans to transfer the funds to a research, test and evaluation budget from a technology analysis account to facilitate detection of cyber vulnerabilities in weapon systems.

The fiscal year 2016 defense policy allocates $200 million to fund DoD’s efforts to assess network threats in weapon systems and requires the department to submit a report to Congress by the end of 2019, Gould reports.

Jacquelyn Schneider, a scholar at George Washington University, said in a report published by the Center for New American Security, that weapon systems built in the past two decades are vulnerable to cyber attacks since such platforms rely on digital satellite communications, blue force trackers, GPS networks and network targeting data, according to the report.

The report said the Distributed Common Ground System-Army and the Lockheed Martin-built F-35 Lightning II aircraft are some of the military platforms that depend on digital systems.

Report: Air Force Wants Enlisted Personnel to Account for Majority of Global Hawk Pilots
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Report: Air Force Wants Enlisted Personnel to Account for Majority of Global Hawk Pilots


RQ-4-Global-Hawk-UASThe U.S. Air Force plans to fill at least half of the service’s RQ-4 Global Hawk pilot crew with enlisted airmen over the next several years amid operational demand and pilot shortage challenges, DoD Buzz reported Friday.

Brendan McGarry writes the Air Force aims to recruit more enlisted airmen to fly the Northrop Grumman-built spy drone after opening the post to all career fields.

“By 2020, the Air Force hopes to have a little more than half of its 198 RQ-4 pilots be enlisted airmen,” Maj. Bryan Lewis, an Air Force spokesman, told Military.com.

“And by that point, roughly 70 percent of the 121 airmen flying Global Hawk missions on a day-to-day basis — not performing other duties such as staff positions at the wing — will be enlisted airmen.”

The Air Force has 33 Global Hawks in its inventory as of fiscal 2015 and larger inventories of armed drones such as General Atomics‘ MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper, the report said.

McGarry writes the Air Force has not clarified if the expected Global Hawk enlisted pilots will also eventually pilot the armed variants.

Sgt. Kimberly Pollard, RPA enlisted specialty manager, announced in August that the Global Hawk program has expanded the eligibility requirements for RQ-4 pilots to include all Air Force specialty codes.

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Vice Adm. Tom Rowden Orders Engineering Stand-Down, Retraining for LCS Crew
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Vice Adm. Tom Rowden Orders Engineering Stand-Down, Retraining for LCS Crew


USS Freedom LCS 1Vice Adm. Tom Rowden, commander of Naval Surface Forces, has issued an engineering “stand-down” across all littoral combat ship squadrons and crew to facilitate a review of the standards and procedures of their engineering units.

The U.S. Navy said Monday the engineering stand-down, which the service branch completed Wednesday, sought to address concerns following engineering-related incidents on USS Freedom and USS Coronado.

“These stand-downs allowed for time to review, evaluate and renew our commitment to ensuring our crews are fully prepared to operate these ships safely,” said Rowden.

“I have asked the Surface Warfare Office School commander to review the wholeness of our LCS engineering education and training to include the testing and retraining of all LCS engineers.”

The SWOS engineering team will create a level-of-knowledge test and specialized engineering training that it will implement across the LCS engineering force over the next 30 days, the Navy noted.

The service branch added that the SWOS commanding officer will also perform a potential 60-day LCS engineering review to help identify and implement adjustments to the engineering training pipeline.

Air Force Research Lab Studies Metal Fatigue in Aircraft Components
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Air Force Research Lab Studies Metal Fatigue in Aircraft Components


AF Lab Metal FatigueThe Air Force Research Laboratory has conducted a study on metal fatigue in aircraft components to learn more about microscopic crack formations and their possible effects on aircraft safety.

The metals branch of the lab’s materials and manufacturing directorate investigated the early stages of crack formation in turbine engine materials to find ways to reduce cracks that could potentially cause fatigue failure, the U.S. Air Force said Thursday.

“The Air Force routinely inspects engine components for cracks, but it is possible to miss microscopically small cracks with current inspection methods,” said Adam Pilchak, an AFRL research scientist with the metals branch.

“Because crack growth rates can vary considerably depending on how a material is processed, it is important to understand the worst-case scenario that leads to the shortest fatigue lifetime.”

The service branch noted factors that cause metal fatigue in an aircraft’s engine, wing or tail structures include repeated loading and unloading, air pressure changes and altitude exposure.

The study sought to build on understanding of metal fatigue, crack origins and the materials on which cracks form to foster updates on aircraft inspection procedures that work to help maintainers discover metal fatigue at an earlier stage before it could impact safety.

The Air Force added that the study also aimed to show whether there is a need to modify the way materials are processed.

The team employed a scanning electron microscope that worked to magnify the surfaces of fractured aircraft engine components in an effort to determine crack origins.

The study led the team to win first place in the electron microscopy research category at the International Metallographic Contest at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2016 and the Jacquet-Lucas Award for excellence in metallography.

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