/
Kurt Vogel Named Associate Administrator at NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate
Published on
Kurt Vogel Named Associate Administrator at NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate

Kurt “Spuds” Vogel, who has been serving in the U.S. government for more than 34 years, has been appointed associate administrator of the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington.

He succeeds James Reuter, who retired from the space agency in June, and will oversee strategic planning and executive leadership, as well as manage tech maturation and demonstration initiatives under the directorate, NASA said Tuesday.

“I am confident his leadership will help NASA continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with space technologies and advancing American leadership in space,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said of Vogel.

Vogel, a U.S. Air Force veteran, most recently served within the Office of the Administrator as director of space architectures at NASA headquarters.

Before NASA, he led research efforts in electronic warfare, space control systems, stealth technology and air-space integration at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

His government career includes time leading a science and technology portfolio at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Systems Technology Office and a stint as acting chief technologist at the National Reconnaissance Office’s Survivability Assurance Office.

Prasun Desai, who has been serving as acting associate administrator at STMD, will resume his duties as deputy associate administrator for the directorate.

/
SDA Issues Broad Agency Announcement for PWSA Technologies & Emerging Capabilities
Published on
SDA Issues Broad Agency Announcement for PWSA Technologies & Emerging Capabilities

The Space Development Agency has begun seeking proposals for a broad agency announcement that seeks new concepts, systems, technologies and capabilities for the U.S. military’s future missile-tracking satellite constellation.

A notice posted Tuesday on SAM.gov states that the BAA aims to enable technology improvements for future Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, or PWSA, tranches and capability layers to address evolving warfighter needs.

SDA is also looking to create new PWSA capability layers and mission areas to deliver mission-critical capabilities to the joint warfighting forces.

The BAA focuses on technical areas such as beyond line-of-sight data transport and warfighter communications; advanced and alternate position, navigation and timing; advanced target custody, warning, tracking and defeat; and global battle management.

PWSA is a resilient layered network of military satellites in low Earth orbit that includes a transport layer to enable military data and communications connectivity and a tracking layer for warning, tracking and targeting advanced missile threats.

POC - 2024 Space Summit

The Potomac Officers Club will host the 2024 Space Summit on March 5 to discuss how new technologies, commercial investments and adversarial threats are shaping the future of space. Register here to save your seat at the highly anticipated event.

/
Mattermost’s Barry Duplantis Shares Insights on ChatOps & New USAF Award
Published on
Mattermost’s Barry Duplantis Shares Insights on ChatOps & New USAF Award

Mattermost recently won a U.S. Air Force Small Business Innovation Research Phase II award intended to enhance low-bandwidth tactical ChatOps.

The project is intended to optimize distributed collaboration and improve warfighter efficiency, safety and accuracy, Mattermost announced from its Palo Alto, California headquarters last week.

“Effective ChatOps is crucial for maintaining decision quality and decision advantage as mission conditions evolve, especially in contested, potentially low-bandwidth environments,” Barry Duplantis, vice president and general manager of North America public sector at Mattermost, told ExecutiveGov.

This contract is a joint effort with partner goTenna, a mobile mesh networking platform. Under the award, Mattermost will develop a plugin compatible with Tactical Assault Kit, or TAK, servers and company channels and cooperate with goTenna to build transmission layer integrations to enable data movement within TAK.

While carrying out their responsibilities, the two companies will work alongside the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Information Directorate and the TAK Product Center.

Activities under the contract are intended to promote near-real-time tactical-enterprise collaboration. The Mattermost-goTenna team will be responsible for providing a proof-of-concept that uses goTenna’s mesh radios in low-bandwidth environments. When adopted, Mattermost’s plugin is expected to enable the secure coordination of mission-critical information across different sectors.

“By partnering with goTenna and working closely with AFRL and project stakeholders, we look forward to creating an innovative solution to address these tactical challenges,” Duplantis said.

In October, Mattermost collaborated with the Air Mobility Command to test its ChatOps platform during the Mobility Guardian 2023 exercise, in which 3,000 U.S. and Allied Forces personnel simultaneously participated in exercises that focused on asynchronous communication channels and collaboration platforms.

Mobility Guardian, said Duplantis, showcased the “critical value of ChatOps in supporting mission operations and enabling teams to move at the speed of the mission.”

/
Jennifer Swanson Offers Updates on Army’s Unified Data Reference Architecture & Innovation Exchange Lab
Published on
Jennifer Swanson Offers Updates on Army’s Unified Data Reference Architecture & Innovation Exchange Lab

Jennifer Swanson, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for data, engineering and software, said the U.S. Army is halfway through completing the implementation plan for a unified data reference architecture, also known as UDRA, and expects to conclude all work by March, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

UDRA is an effort that seeks to enable the military branch to develop a data mesh across all of its programs.

“That [implementation plan] does a few things for us. Number one, it helps us to make sure that the UDRA as it stands today is what we want it to be,” Swanson said at an event on Thursday.

“Number two, it allows us to begin doing some [program of record] integration. So we want to get after being able to determine, with our current programs of record, which ones we can maybe start migrating. Maybe not to all of this, maybe we’re not going to comply with every single thing in today’s programs of record immediately. But I think we can start taking credit for some of these things this year, and the UDRA is going to help us to get after that,” she added.

The service has also launched an innovation exchange lab in partnership with Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, to assess industry capabilities.

The lab is a cloud-based offering that allows industry partners to bring platforms for UDRA and assess their compliance and will be available to all vendors once it reaches full deployment in February.

“We want to make sure before we open it up to everybody, that we have our processes straight, and that it’s going to be efficient and effective,” Swanson said. “When we do that full launch, that’s something that will be available to industry to be able to bring in your solutions and determine, ‘Are you compliant?’ Obviously, it’s a business decision, but do you want and or need to make tweaks to your solutions to be more compliant with the UDRA?”

/
DOE Seeks Applications for Facilities & Strategies Tracks of MAKE IT Clean Energy Tech Manufacturing Challenge
Published on
DOE Seeks Applications for Facilities & Strategies Tracks of MAKE IT Clean Energy Tech Manufacturing Challenge

The Department of Energy is soliciting applications for the two tracks of a $30 million challenge that seeks to accelerate domestic manufacturing of key components for clean energy technologies.

The MAKE IT Prize, which stands for Manufacture of Advanced Key Energy Infrastructure Technologies, is a challenge launched by DOE in April 2023 and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL said Friday.

DOE set a Feb. 1 deadline for statements of intent from new teams interested in taking part in the MAKE IT Prize Facilities Track’s secondary timeline and submissions for Phase 1: Scope.

“The goal of the Facilities Track is to strengthen the domestic supply chain for components essential for advancing clean energy technologies,” said Rebecca Szymkowicz, commercialization program manager at DOE.

“With that in mind, we’re looking for competitors to demonstrate that they are ready to manufacture clean energy components at scale,” she added.

Winners can get up to $5 million for building domestic manufacturing facilities for clean energy components under the Facilities Track.

Under the Strategies Track, the department set a Feb. 15 deadline for submissions to the second round of Phase 1 and Phase 2’s first round.

The first phase is open to all applicants and the second phase is open to winners of Phase 1’s initial round.

“The Strategies Track is looking for nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, economic development organizations, and other groups that will nurture not only individual manufacturing facilities but the larger ecosystem in which these facilities exist—and in a way that works for those communities,” Szymkowicz noted.

“This could involve things like workforce development programs, special services for businesses, or other things that that make the area appealing for manufacturers, workers, and the community as a whole,” she added.

With the Strategies Track, winners can secure up to $400,000 for developing a roadmap for bringing clean energy production to their region and offering evidence of interest from a manufacturing developer.

/
Commerce Department Aims to Promote Minority-Owned Business Growth With Help of New Advisory Council
Published on
Commerce Department Aims to Promote Minority-Owned Business Growth With Help of New Advisory Council

The Department of Commerce has established a new council whose function is to provide the Minority Business Development Agency with advice to help promote the growth of minority-owned businesses.

The Minority Business Enterprise Advisory Council, the establishment of which was mandated by the Minority Business Development Act of 2021, is composed of 19 members from the private and public sectors, who will serve on a two-year term with an opportunity for reappointment, the Commerce Department said Friday.

The council’s members include leaders of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Foundation, U.S. Black Chambers Inc. and the Potawatomi Business Development Corporation, and representatives from the Small Business Administration, the Department of Labor, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Treasury.

Undersecretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development Donald Cravins Jr. described the council as “a critical lever of MBDA’s role as a leading authority for minority and underserved businesses.”

Cravins went on to say that the leadership and influence of the council’s members “will be invaluable to MBDA’s impact and mission to create a strong, equitable economy that gives every American a shot at building a successful business.”

/
NIST Appoints 5 New Members to Industrial Advisory Committee
Published on
NIST Appoints 5 New Members to Industrial Advisory Committee

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has added five new members to an advisory committee offering insights on microelectronics research and development policies.

Gregg Bartlett, chief technology officer of Global Foundries; Scott DeBoer, executive vice president at Micron Technology; Mark Papermaster, CTO and EVP of Advanced Micro Devices; Kristin Toth, an executive director at General Motors; and Todd Younkin, CEO and president of Semiconductor Research Corporation, joined the Industrial Advisory Committee — or IAC — in late December, NIST said Friday.

The appointments were made less than a year after NIST opened the nominations for members to fill positions on the committee.

Established in 2021, the IAC offers advice on advancing domestic semiconductor production in support of the CHIPS for America program.

Committee members will serve three-year terms with the possibility of serving two consecutive terms.

/
Maj. Gen. Thomas Carden Jr. Nominated as Northern Command Deputy Commander
Published on
Maj. Gen. Thomas Carden Jr. Nominated as Northern Command Deputy Commander

Army Maj. Gen. Thomas Carden Jr., adjutant general of the Georgia National Guard, has been nominated by President Biden to serve as deputy commander of U.S. Northern Command.

In a general officer announcement posted Thursday, Lloyd Austin, defense secretary and three-time Wash100 Award recipient, said Carden is also up for appointment to the rank of lieutenant general.

Prior to his current assignment, Carden was deputy commander of NATO’s Multi- National Division Southeast in Bucharest, Romania.

He additionally served in the Georgia Army National Guard as chief of staff; deputy chief of staff for plans, operations and training; and deputy chief for personnel.

Carden enlisted in the Georgia Army National Guard as an infantryman in 1986 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1989.

Army Intelligence Officer David Pierce Discusses Proactive Data-Centric Strategies for 2024
Published on
Army Intelligence Officer David Pierce Discusses Proactive Data-Centric Strategies for 2024

The U.S. Army will enhance its strategy toward becoming a more data-centric organization in 2024 by implementing proactive initiatives in information literacy as well as intelligence sharing and communication, said David Pierce, an Army intelligence officer.

Since the introduction of the Army Data Plan in 2022, the service branch has been working to improve its information management process, including assigning “data champions” different units and creating an information literacy task force, Pierce explained.

“While the Army is taking the right steps toward becoming more data-centric, technology is not enough to solve enterprise data challenges,” Pierce said. “Cultural shifts are required to change how the Army views the value of data.”

For instance, the task force established by the 513th Military Intelligence Brigade and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point has been effective in preparing intelligence brigades manage information in real-world missions, whether multi-domain or joint all-domain operations.

Pierce underscored the importance of data accessibility in gaining decision-making advantage in combat. He said that the Army’s expanding access to information will deepen insights and lead to better and faster strategic outcomes in the battlefield.

“While the Army still has improvements it needs to make to its sensor capacity, the data we have today still needs to be able to be discovered and delivered to the right platforms and tools of choice,” he stated.

/
Pentagon Defines Scope, Authorities of Cyber Red Teams
Published on
Pentagon Defines Scope, Authorities of Cyber Red Teams

The Office of the Department of Defense’s Chief Information Officer has released a document establishing the DOD Cyber Assessment Program and outlining the policy and responsibilities for program requirements and subprograms for all components involved in the development, sustainment and acquisition of the department’s digital infrastructure and related systems.

The latest DOD instruction defines the scope and authorities of DOD Cyber Red Teams, or DCRTs, and assigns processes for validating the qualifications and skills of such teams.

The document also lays out responsibilities for risk evaluation related to conducting DCRT assessments and the risks and results associated with the teams that carry them out.

According to DOD Instruction 8585.01, a DCRT is a multidisciplinary group of personnel authorized to emulate a potential adversary’s attack capabilities against a targeted mission or capability and highlight vulnerabilities and demonstrate operational impact for enhancing joint operations in cyberspace and the DOD Information Network’s cybersecurity posture.

DCRTs are also authorized to perform three roles as part of the DOD defense cyberspace forces: acquisition tester, operational vulnerability assessor and cyber opposing force aggressor.

1 … 389 390 391 392 393 … 2,624