NASA’s Artemis II and Artemis III missions will be launched in September 2025 and September 2026, respectively, as the agency addresses challenges observed in the program’s inaugural expedition.

NASA announced Tuesday that it adjusted its lift-off targets for Artemis II and III to ensure the safety of their crew, and to give time for SpaceX and Blue Origin to refine the development of future Artemis human landing systems.

The agency is implementing lessons learned from Artemis I, whose spacecraft heat shield lost char layer pieces during the mission. NASA is also currently testing and qualifying components such as critical environmental control and life support systems, batteries and air ventilation and temperature management circuits.

“We’ve learned a lot since Artemis I, and the success of these early missions relies on our commercial and international partnerships to further our reach and understanding of humanity’s place in our solar system,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. “Artemis represents what we can accomplish as a nation – and as a global coalition. When we set our sights on what is hard, together, we can achieve what is great.”

The federal government reported receipts amounting to $1.1 trillion in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 and outlays amounting to $1.6 trillion, resulting in a budget deficit total of $509 billion.

The federal budget deficit for the first three months of FY2024 is roughly 21 percent higher than the deficit for the same period in FY2023, the Congressional Budget Office said in its December budget review, which was issued Tuesday.

Receipts for Q1 FY2024 are 8 percent higher than the receipts for Q1 FY2023. The CBO attributed a large portion of the increase to the postponement of some tax deadlines for taxpayers in federally-declared disaster areas. Taxes that would otherwise have been paid in FY2023 were moved to FY2024.

Outlays for Q1 FY2024 are 12 percent higher compared to the same period in FY2023. The CBO pointed to two major contributing factors. First, due to a significant increase in interest rates, net interest on the public debt hit $221 billion, an increase of about $73 billion. Second, due to the need to facilitate the resolution of bank failures in FY2023, outlays for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reached $59 billion, an increase of about $62 billion.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti delivered a keynote address at a symposium on Tuesday and stated that she has three priorities for the U.S. Navy — warfighting, warfighters and the foundation that supports them.

For the warfighting aspect, Franchetti told the audience at the symposium that she wants the service to bring a “decisive combat power,” the Navy said Tuesday.

“We will prioritize the readiness and capabilities required to fight and win at sea, and the logistics and shore support required to keep our Navy fit to fight,” she said.

Other efforts include advancing naval integration with the U.S. Marine Corps, aligning warfighting initiatives with the Joint Force and driving interoperability with allies.

For the second priority, the admiral said she wants to strengthen the Navy team by advancing the use of principles of mission command to empower leaders, providing education and training to sailors and civilians and recruiting and retaining talented individuals.

When it comes to the last priority, Franchetti stated that she wants the service to earn the trust and confidence of the American people by working with Congress to support the Navy, collaborating with industry and academia to address challenges and advancing integrated deterrence.

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Innovation and Partnerships Office has opened to the public a new software licensing portal that offers access to a catalog of proprietary software developed by LLNL researchers.

LLNL said the portal aims to promote technology transfer and collaboration with industry by providing software licensing opportunities for specific use cases, ranging from non-exclusive end-user licenses to custom proprietary options and open-source software licensing.

Through the tailored license agreements, LLNL IPO intends to work with businesses looking to distribute software and incorporate LLNL-developed software into commercial products.

The software licensing portal is meant to pair with LLNL’s open-source software catalog to jointly promote industry adoption and innovation in academia.

The Small Business Administration marked the beginning of the 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, focusing on national and economic security, domestic manufacturing and sustainability.

The contest will be divided into two stages for ecosystem-building activities and later the commercialization of winning innovations, SBA announced Monday.

Stage One of GAFC is now open to interested applicants, with a potential $3 million prize money to be awarded in April. The second stage will be a shortlist of candidates from the first round, with winners to be announced in September.

The theme areas range from defense to quantum computing, biotechnology, public health, renewable energy, supply chain, infrastructure resilience and agricultural technology and innovation.

“This year’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition builds on the success of last year’s competition, which successfully catalyzed bonds between local and national innovation ecosystem support networks,” said Bailey DeVries, associate administrator for SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation. The 2024 prize awards “will support entrepreneurs operating in undercapitalized and underserved markets with valuable resources in America’s innovation ecosystem.”