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NTIA Seeks Candidates for FirstNet Authority Board
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NTIA Seeks Candidates for FirstNet Authority Board

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration has started the recruitment process for new board members of the First Responder Network Authority by issuing a notice on the Federal Register.

NTIA said Wednesday the term of 11 FirstNet Authority Board members will be available for appointment and reappointment in calendar year 2024 and interested stakeholders should submit expressions of interest on or before Feb. 2.

The board provides strategic guidance and policy direction for the FirstNet Authority, which deploys and operates a national public safety broadband network.

According to the notice, board candidates should have expertise and experience in public safety, as well as technical, network and financial areas.

Energy Department Issues RFI for National Zero Emissions Building Definition Development
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Energy Department Issues RFI for National Zero Emissions Building Definition Development

The Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office has started soliciting insights from industry, academia and other federal agencies as it works to develop a national definition of a zero emissions building.

DOE said Wednesday it expects the national definition to establish a clear market signal and serve as a framework that could be used to influence the design and operation of buildings as part of efforts to transition the building sector to zero emissions.

The RFI was issued by DOE for Part 1 of a draft definition for zero emissions buildings.

According to the department, federal assistance initiatives supporting the renovation and construction of non-federally owned buildings will be encouraged to fall in line with the national definition.

The definition’s initial part will focus on zero operating emissions and future parts will likely encompass key elements such as refrigerants and embodied carbon.

According to the proposed definition, a zero emissions building is a structure that is highly energy efficient, free of on-site emissions from energy use and powered solely from clean energy.

Responses to the RFI are due Feb. 5.

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NOAA Requests Information on Space Weather Ground Mission Services Requirement
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NOAA Requests Information on Space Weather Ground Mission Services Requirement

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has begun seeking information from potential industry sources capable of providing ground and mission support services for NOAA’s future space weather spacecraft missions.

A notice posted Tuesday on SAM.gov states that the NOAA Office of Space Weather Observations under the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service requires mission-specific services to support the continuity of space weather observations around Earth-Sun Lagrange Point 1 and other orbits.

SWO mission services will support the Space Weather Follow-On Program L1 observatory scheduled to deploy in 2025 and the Space Weather Next L1 Series observatories set for launch in late 2028 and 2032.

For the second L1 Series observatory, SWO mission services must operate up to three observatories at L1 simultaneously while ground services must operate a geosynchronous series of space weather satellites starting in 2032.

Interested parties have until Feb. 2 to respond to the request for information.

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RAND Calls for Comprehensive Approach to Cybersecurity, Supply Chain Risk Management; Victoria Greenfield Quoted
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RAND Calls for Comprehensive Approach to Cybersecurity, Supply Chain Risk Management; Victoria Greenfield Quoted

A new RAND Corp. report highlights the need for the defense industrial base to take a comprehensive approach when it comes to addressing cybersecurity and supply chain risk management and look at the consequences of cyberattacks, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

“So, taking that more comprehensive approach, thinking about consequences and thinking about consequences, not just for information, but its consequences for supply chain functionality … And so thinking about the functionality of your supply chain, whether or not you’re able to get what you need when you need it. Not just about the security of the information itself,” said Victoria Greenfield, a senior economist at RAND, told FNN.

Greenfield discussed one of the findings of the report: that a conflict between cybersecurity and SCRM could result in an increase in cyberattacks.

“In conventional SCRM…you would think, ‘Alright, I’m going to make my supply chain less risky by adding more potential suppliers, bringing more businesses and expanding my rolodex,’” Greenfield noted.

“What does that do from a cyber perspective? You have potentially increased the points of attack, … And so you may, from a cyber perspective, be making things riskier,” she added.

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NSF Reorganizes Chief Information Officer Team to Foster Innovation; Sethuraman Panchanathan Quoted
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NSF Reorganizes Chief Information Officer Team to Foster Innovation; Sethuraman Panchanathan Quoted

The National Science Foundation has reorganized its Office of the Chief Information Officer as part of a strategic initiative to foster innovation and maximize the efficiency of its operations.

The new OCIO retains Terry Carpenter as CIO, with the additional role of chief technology officer, and Dorothy Aronson as chief data officer and assistant CIO for artificial intelligence, NSF announced Wednesday.

The realignment also puts Dan Hofherr in the role of chief information security officer and assistant CIO for operations and installs Teresa Guillot as assistant CIO for enterprise services. Hofherr was deputy division director for information systems, while Guillot served as IT project manager before her promotion.

“I am confident that the reorganization of our IT functions will propel NSF to new heights of innovation and efficiency,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. “This strategic initiative reflects our solid commitment to delivering unparalleled IT services and solutions across the agency.”

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USSF, AFRL Issue RFI for 3rd University Consortium/Space Strategic Technology Institute Program Series
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USSF, AFRL Issue RFI for 3rd University Consortium/Space Strategic Technology Institute Program Series

The U.S. Space Force is seeking information from potential contractors with advanced space power and propulsion capabilities, or ASPP, for the third iteration of its University Consortium/Space Strategic Technology Institute program, also known as SSTI 3.

The project is in partnership with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and is open to universities and industry partners specializing in space research, development and testing, the Space Force announced.

The agencies will choose a minimum of three universities for the program, prioritizing proposals that transition or advance the readiness of technologies relevant to the Department of Defense.

The lead university for each team will be responsible for managing ASPP subtopic research, as well as distributing subaward funds if necessary to other team member institutions.

The deadline for responding to the request for information is on Feb. 2.

As the race for space dominance heightens, the Potomac Officers Club is gathering industry experts and government leaders to discuss challenges and strategies for attaining U.S. superiority in space. Join them at the 2024 Space Summit on March 5 by registering here.

POC - 2024 Space Summit
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Tetra Tech to Support Conservation in Cambodia Under USAID Contract; Dan Batrack Quoted
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Tetra Tech to Support Conservation in Cambodia Under USAID Contract; Dan Batrack Quoted

Tetra Tech has secured a contract from the U.S. Agency for International Development to support conservation efforts in Cambodia.

Under the $24 million award, the company will work to protect biodiversity, conserve natural resources and strengthen community livelihoods, Tetra Tech announced from its Pasadena, California headquarters on Thursday.

“Healthy and sustainable forests and ecosystems provide essential climate and economic resiliency for communities and nations in the face of climate change,” said Tetra Tech Chairman and CEO Dan Batrack.

He noted Cambodia’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The organization, he said, is “pleased” to apply its data-driven Leading with Science approach to assist USAID with delivering environmentally sustainable development offerings and help Cambodia reach this objective.

Known as USAID Conserve, this program aims to leverage a community-led natural resource management method to safeguard critical ecosystems in the nation. In doing so, Tetra Tech will join forces with local communities to harness mobile data collection tools and address illegal logging and wildlife poaching.

As part of the project, Tetra Tech’s climate finance specialists will devise long-term strategies to promote continued conservation in Cambodia, such as blue carbon credit programs in flooded forests and coastal locations. These activities are intended to drive economic growth and empower climate-smart, community-based enterprises like ecotourism.

To implement these initiatives, the company will work alongside the Royal Government of Cambodia, conservation organizations and the private sector.

This award follows multiple USAID contracts issued to Tetra Tech within the past year. In August 2023, the company booked a $32 million award from the agency for dioxin remediation services at the Bien Hoa Air Base area in Vietnam.

Tetra Tech also secured a $48 million contract from USAID’s Ethiopia Mission in May to create a comprehensive learning platform that will utilize predictive analytics to monitor data that could influence programming decisions.

Kristyn Jones Says USAF Is Building Offensive Electronic Warfare Capabilities
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Kristyn Jones Says USAF Is Building Offensive Electronic Warfare Capabilities

Kristyn Jones, acting under secretary of the Air Force, said the service branch is shifting its focus toward offensive electronic warfare capabilities to gain advantage and maintain dominance over adversaries in the electromagnetic spectrum, Signal Media reported Wednesday.

“In order for us to maintain our information advantage, especially in highly contested environments, we must have dominance in the electromagnetic spectrum,” Jones said at the AFCEA Northern Virginia Chapter’s Air Force Information Technology Day.

According to Jones, the Air Force is establishing two electronic warfare-related detachments that will be part of the new Spectrum Warfare Group at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia.

The new units will help conduct initial readiness assessments of the Air Force’s electronic warfare systems and support spectrum warfare missions.

The Air Force also modernizes its command control, communications, and battle management processes to align its mission objectives and re-optimize for great power competition.

“The DAF is not optimized for great power competition. We owe our airmen and guardians better, and we must change. We must ensure that the DAF is optimized and ready to deter and defeat adversaries today,” Jones said.

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Maxar Books Contract to Provide 3D GEOINT Tools to NGA; Susanne Hake Quoted
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Maxar Books Contract to Provide 3D GEOINT Tools to NGA; Susanne Hake Quoted

Maxar Intelligence has secured a contract from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for a set of Precision3D Data Suite offerings.

Together, these products contain information on 160,000 square kilometers within the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility, the Westminster, Colorado headquartered company announced on Thursday.

Susanne Hake, general manager of U.S. government at Maxar Intelligence, said the award “speaks to the NGA’s strong partnership with industry and the growing business case for utilizing unclassified, high-quality commercial geospatial data to support national security needs.”

The Precision3D Data Suite uses multiview photogrammetry methods to collect precise and detailed 3D models with 50 centimeter resolution and accuracy of three meters in every dimension. This data is continuous across different surfaces and terrains and can be obtained without ground control.

Hake noted that along with these capabilities, Precision3D “provides an accurate foundation for additional data sources through georegistration.”

Under the contract, Maxar will deliver its Precision3D Surface Model, Digital Surface Model and True Ortho offerings as well as predicted accuracy data, a metadata layer that enables exploitation tools to forecast horizontal and vertical accuracies at all locations within the Digital Surface Model.

These offerings will assist the NGA’s Office of Geomatics in its efforts to maintain accurate 3D geospatial intelligence technologies for a wide range of military and civilian clients.

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Vice Adm. James Downey Named NAVSEA Commander
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Vice Adm. James Downey Named NAVSEA Commander

Vice Adm. James Downey has assumed leadership of Naval Sea Systems Command during a change-of-command ceremony held at the Washington Navy Yard.

He succeeds Rear Adm. Thomas Anderson, who was named acting NAVSEA commander in September following the retirement of Vice Adm. William Galinis.

Downey has served as special assistant to the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition since July 2023. Before that, he was the program executive officer for Aircraft Carriers, commander of the Navy Regional Maintenance Center and NAVSEA’s deputy commander for surface warfare.

Adm. Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations, presided over the ceremony and highlighted NAVSEA’s role in supporting the U.S. Navy’s warship fleet.

“The reality is that all of our Navy’s warships are successful in their assigned missions because of the work done right here at NAVSEA,” said Franchetti.

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