The Jason-3 spacecraft launched Sunday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as part of an international mission that seeks to monitor global weather and rising sea levels.

NASA said Monday a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried the satellite to space, where it will fly in formation with Jason-2 to take measurements of the world’s ice-free oceans at 10-day intervals.

“The measurements from Jason-3 will advance our efforts to understand Earth as an integrated system by increasing our knowledge of sea level changes and the ocean’s roles in climate,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for science at NASA headquarters.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration leads the mission and works with NASA, the space agency’s French counterpart CNES and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.

Jason-3 will begin a six-month checkout phase before its enters full science operations.

The Thales–Finmeccanica joint venture Thales Alenia Space built the spacecraft and serves as prime contractor on the program.

Thales Alenia Space said Sunday it equipped Jason-3 with the Poseidon-3B dual-frequency altimeter, the DORIS orbit determination system, the Advanced Microwave Radiometer, a laser retro-reflector array and a GPS payload.

The National Science Foundation has awarded $5 million in grants to Indiana University, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center and the University of Wisconsin-Madison to establish a cybersecurity center of excellence.

The institutions will launch the Center for Trustworthy Scientific Cyberinfrastructure through the funding after three years of collaboration to develop the center, the PSC said Friday.

“NSF-funded cyberinfrastructure presents unique challenges for operational security personnel and impacts other important areas of research affecting society, including ocean sciences, natural hazards, engineering, biology and physics,” said Anita Nikolich, cybersecurity program director within NSF’s advanced cyberinfrastructure division.

“Organizations that host cyberinfrastructure must find the right balance of security, privacy and usability while maintaining an environment in which data are openly shared,” added Nikolich.

CTSC will work to help expand cybersecurity skills through education and training in coordination with NSF-funded research organizations.

The center will facilitate support activities centered around identity and access management, led by Jim Basney of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, and host an annual NSF cybersecurity summit, led by PSC Chief Information Security Officer James Marsteller.

The Food and Drug Administration has released draft guidance to help manufacturers protect medical devices against cyber threats throughout the product lifecycle.

The guide outlines postmarket strategies for the medical device industry to monitor, identify and address cybersecurity risks that could affect the performance and safety of their technology offerings, the FDA said Friday.

“Medical devices that use software and are connected to hospital and health care organizations’ networks have vulnerabilities,” said Suzanne Schwartz, acting director of emergency preparedness/operations and medical countermeasures at FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

“Only when we work collaboratively and openly in a trusted environment, will we be able to best protect patient safety and stay ahead of cybersecurity threats,” Schwartz added.

The agency recommended that manufacturers integrate a National Institute of Standards and Technology-provided cybersecurity framework into their risk management efforts.

FDA will hold a public workshop on Wednesday and Thursday at the agency headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, to discuss medical device protection issues with industry.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will hold a Proposers Day on Jan. 25 to provide information on a new program that seeks to facilitate new imaging concepts and technology through the detection of photons.

DARPA said Wednesday the Fundamental Limits of Photon Detection or “Detect” program aims to use quantum models for proof-of-concept experiments.

“The goal of the Detect program is to determine how precisely we can spot individual photons and whether we can maximize key characteristics of photon detectors simultaneously in a single system,” said Prem Kumar, a program manager at DARPA.

“[Answers] to these questions could radically change light detection as we know it and vastly improve the many tools and avenues of discovery that today rely on light detection.”

The program will also look into differences between various technology platforms for photon detection.

DARPA said experts in the fields of quantum measurement theory, quantum information science, semiconductor and superconductor physics, system design and engineering, among others, can participate in the program.