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NASA Picks 4 Teams to Advance in Lunar Power Distribution Challenge
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NASA Picks 4 Teams to Advance in Lunar Power Distribution Challenge

Four research teams made it to the final level of NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge, a competition that seeks innovations on power generation and storage on the lunar surface.

The winning teams are led by tech startup Orbital Mining Corp., Michigan Technological University, Ohio State University and the University of California – Santa Barbara, NASA announced Wednesday.

Watts on the Moon is part of the Space Technology Mission Directorate’ Centennial Challenges, which was established to encourage public involvement in the agency’s development of advanced technologies. Phase Two of the energy storage contest began in February 2022, with level 1 of the competition ending in August.

The four teams were shortlisted from the level 2 competition. Ohio State University demonstrated a six-kilometer cable with modular power conversion emulating a power transmission line built for the Moon’s surface.

UCSB’s experimental system has shown promise in generating electricity in a wide temperature range, indicating that it may be able to distribute power on lunar days and nights.

MTU took its winning entry from the 2020 NASA BIG Idea Challenge and developed what they call a Tethered Mechanism for Persistent Energy Storage and Transmission. The device uses a battery storage hub and adapted rovers to deliver electricity in uncertain terrains.

Colorado-based Orbital Mining is working on a high-voltage DC-to-DC converter system that can function despite cold temperatures during sunless lunar nights.

Their prototypes will undergo testing in a simulated environment in 2024.

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New Action Plan Outlines White House’s Biotechnology Workforce Priorities
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New Action Plan Outlines White House’s Biotechnology Workforce Priorities

The Biden administration has released a new action plan outlining its priorities to advance education and workforce training opportunities in the U.S. biotechnology and biomanufacturing sector.

The action plan stresses the need for interagency and industry partnerships to support the administration’s five core recommendations to build and strengthen the bioworkforce, the White House said Tuesday.

In accordance with the plan, the National Science Foundation and the departments of Agriculture and Energy will expand partnerships with historically black colleges and universities, tribal colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions to diversify the biotechnology and biomanufacturing talent pool.

The Department of Energy will also launch a professional learning series on the role of K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions in creating career pathways in the sector.

Furthermore, the National Institute of Standards and Technology will fund a National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals pilot program to encourage high school students to pursue careers in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

The action plan supports an executive order signed in September 2022 to strengthen the biotechnology and biomanufacturing industry in the U.S.

GAO Says Navy Faces Challenges in Developing Cost Estimates for Shipyard Improvement
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GAO Says Navy Faces Challenges in Developing Cost Estimates for Shipyard Improvement

The Government Accountability Office has revealed in a new report that the U.S. Navy has yet to develop a full cost and schedule estimate for modernizing dry docks in its four public shipyards that maintain aircraft carriers and submarines.

The service branch also indicated that it will not be able to submit an estimate for the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program until 2025, after each shipyard completes its detailed infrastructure plans, GAO said Wednesday.

“The Navy faces challenges developing a reliable cost and schedule estimate for the full SIOP and its associated efforts, including project uncertainty, volatile commodity prices, and a lack of expertise completing dry dock projects,” the report reads.

GAO added that it found issues in the cost and schedule estimates for the Navy’s ongoing dry dock project at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

The government watchdog revealed that the cost estimate for the project grew from $528 million to $2.2 billion between 2019 and 2021 partly due to a lack of competition.

GAO recommends that for all key SIOP projects, the Navy update its estimates throughout the design process and comply with best practices for schedule estimates.

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HHS Eyes Release of Final Rule on Use of AI in EHR Systems
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HHS Eyes Release of Final Rule on Use of AI in EHR Systems

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology within the Department of Health and Human Services has proposed a rule that would direct electronic health records systems using artificial intelligence and algorithms to share information with users on how such AI tools work, FedScoop reported Wednesday.

The comment period closed on June 20, for the proposed rule, which ONC expects to help improve transparency and prevent algorithmic bias.

“The idea is that you should have a standardized nutrition label for an algorithm,” National Coordinator for Health IT Micky Tripathi told the publication in an interview.

The rule’s AI portion would build on current certification requirements for clinical decision support platforms by introducing a new category for AI, algorithms and other predictive tools.

A spokesman for ONC said the office intends to release the final rule later this year.

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LIFT Begins Phase 2 Work on Hypersonics Thermal Management, Material Acceleration Programs
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LIFT Begins Phase 2 Work on Hypersonics Thermal Management, Material Acceleration Programs

A Department of Defense-backed national manufacturing innovation institute in Detroit, LIFT, has started the second phase of two programs focused on advancing work on materials acceleration and thermal management for hypersonic vehicles.

LIFT said Wednesday it will continue to work with Friedman Research Corp. and the University of Central Florida and add Exothermics and Materials Research & Design as a partner to study ceramic matrix composites and metallics under the Hypersonics Material Acceleration program’s Phase 2.

The institute worked with FRC, UCF, Hexagon, Spectrum Engineering, Michigan Technological University, University of Arizona, Alfred University and the University at Buffalo on the initial phase of the program.

LIFT will also collaborate with UCF and FRC to pursue hypersonic materials performance prediction under the Hypersonics Thermal Management program’s Phase 2. FRC, UCF, MTU and UofA were the institute’s partners on the first phase, which explored manufacturing processes and metallic materials used in high-temperature thermal applications.

“Understanding materials characteristics is at the core of everything as we look to manufacture the components of the future, particularly those which need to travel in excess of 4,000 miles per hour,” said Nigel Francis, CEO and executive director of LIFT.

The programs launched in 2021 and are expected to conclude in 2023.

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NSA, CISA Issue Recommendation to Strengthen Security of Coding Environments
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NSA, CISA Issue Recommendation to Strengthen Security of Coding Environments

The National Security Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency jointly released an information sheet recommending security best practices for organizations with Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery coding platforms.

The guidance was published amid potential threats from malicious cyber actors to compromise CI/CD pipelines, which are key to executing development, security and operations strategies, NSA said Wednesday.

Top risks in CI/CD pipelines include insecure codes, poisoned pipeline execution, misconfigured systems, the use of third-party services and exposure of security keys and secrets.

NSA and CISA urge organizations to implement a zero trust approach to detect threats and use NSA-recommended cryptographic algorithms to boost protection of data, secrets, keys and application programming interfaces.

Long-term credentials should be avoided in software authentication, but if it must be maintained, administrators should protect and manage all keys associated with them. Ephemeral credentials should also be used in cloud environments, the agencies stated.

The full document is available on the NSA website.

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DHS Amends Acquisition Regulation to Boost Protection of Controlled Unclassified Information
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DHS Amends Acquisition Regulation to Boost Protection of Controlled Unclassified Information

The Department of Homeland Security revised its acquisition regulation to enhance the protection and privacy of controlled unclassified information, and improve security incident reporting to the agency.

The rule, which takes effect on July 21, aims to refine standard procedures for responding to DHS contractors that encounter incidents with the agency’s sensitive data.

The Homeland Security Acquisition Regulation was amended to ensure security measures are in place for contractor or subcontractor employees who will access CUI. It contains requirements and processes for handling in-house or third-party information systems that will be used to collect or transmit CUI.

New HSAR language also includes mandates for contractors to have notification and credit monitoring services for individuals who may be affected by information system incidents because of their Personally Identifiable Information or Sensitive PII.

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Army Requests Proposals for Virtual Learning Environment 2.0 Contract
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Army Requests Proposals for Virtual Learning Environment 2.0 Contract

The Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command has begun seeking proposals for a single-award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to develop a virtual learning environment for the service branch’s digital information learning systems.

A notice posted Monday on SAM.gov states that the Army Virtual Learning Environment 2.0 contract will create and implement training and education products in support of the Training and Doctrine Command Army Distributed Learning Program.

AVLE 2.0 will use gaming engines, virtual reality goggles, augmented reality, 3D modeling and simulations and other modalities to build interactivity levels of instructional multimedia.

The contract will have a one-year base performance period with four option years.

Responses to the request for proposals are due July 26.

DOE & Sweden Forge Alliance to Advance Energy R&D Efforts
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DOE & Sweden Forge Alliance to Advance Energy R&D Efforts

The United States via the Department of Energy and the government of Sweden have entered into a joint implementation agreement to strengthen scientific cooperation and research in the energy sector.

Building upon a collaboration that the two nations initiated in 2006, the new agreement seeks to facilitate joint research projects, promote scientist exchanges and enable the sharing of research facilities, DOE said Wednesday.

Focus areas will include scientific computing, high energy physics, nuclear physics, fusion, basic energy sciences as well as biological and environmental research.

Commenting on the partnership, Swedish Minister for Education and Research Mats Persson highlighted the importance of addressing the growing demand for clean and green energy.

The joint agreement was signed during a ceremony attended by Persson, the U.S. ambassador to Sweden, the deputy president of Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology and DOE’s Office of Science director.

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CBO: Federal Deficits to Reach 10% of GDP by 2053
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CBO: Federal Deficits to Reach 10% of GDP by 2053

The Congressional Budget Office projects the total federal deficits to drop from 5.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2023 to 5 percent by 2027 and then increase steadily over the next three decades, hitting 10 percent of GDP by 2053.

CBO said Wednesday it expects federal debt held by the public to rise from 98 percent of GDP by the end of 2023 to 107 percent of GDP by 2029 and 181 percent by 2053.

According to the agency, such rising debt could impact economic growth, increase interest payments to foreign debt holders and pose major risks to the economic and fiscal outlook.

CBO noted that revenues are projected to decline from 19.6 percent of GDP in 2022 to 18.4 percent in 2023 and then climb to 19.1 percent of GDP in 2053.

The report projects federal spending to grow from 24 percent of GDP in 2023 to 29 percent of GDP in 2053.

CBO said large primary deficits and rising interest rates cause net outlays for interest to triple in relation to GDP over the next 30 years.

According to the report, spending on Social Security and major health programs significantly increases federal outlays over the next three decades.

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