/
FCC Adopts Rules to Speed Up Satellite Application Processing; Jessica Rosenworcel Quoted
Published on
FCC Adopts Rules to Speed Up Satellite Application Processing; Jessica Rosenworcel Quoted

The Federal Communications Commission has approved new rules to accelerate its processing of satellite and Earth station applications to keep pace with the increasing needs of the commercial space industry.

The commission said Thursday the report and order sets timeframes for issuing public comment notices for such applications and allows applicants to seek authority to operate in frequencies within bands where there are no international frequency allocations.

According to the R&O document, the rules also seek to expedite the processing of requests to add Earth stations as points of communication and offer flexibility for operators to have more than one unbuilt non-geostationary orbit system without facing the risk of seeing their applications dismissed.

“It is a new era so we eliminate old rules that no longer meet the moment and establish clear timeframes for placing space and earth station applications on public notice,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

“This makes our process easier to understand for existing players and new entrants alike,” added Rosenworcel.

According to the FCC, the adoption of the rules marks the latest effort in advancing the commission’s Space Innovation agenda and provides the foundation for the Space Bureau’s Transparency Initiative, which intends to mitigate administrative burden by providing potential applicants with information and guidance to help them prepare as they work toward authorizations for their satellites and Earth stations.

The commission noted that it will continue to gather public feedback on proposals meant to streamline the processing of applications, such as eliminating the task of printing and keeping a paper copy of a license and changing the default status of such applications from “restricted” to “permit-but-disclose” proceedings.

/
Space Force Receives Additional NOAA Satellite for Indian Ocean Weather Surveillance
Published on
Space Force Receives Additional NOAA Satellite for Indian Ocean Weather Surveillance

U.S. Space Force has accepted another Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and will make the spacecraft part of the Electro-optical Infrared Weather System-Geostationary mission.

The purpose of the EWS-G venture is to collect weather data like cloud imagery over the Indian Ocean, information that is critical to the planning of maritime military operations, Space Force said Friday.

The new satellite, dubbed EWS-G2, is the former GOES-15 satellite, whose transfer to Space Force was approved by Congress in June after its successor came online in January.

EWS-G2 will succeed EWS-G1, formerly the GOES-13 satellite, which NOAA put in storage mode in orbit after its successor became operational in 2017. NOAA transferred the spacecraft to the Space Force that same year via a memorandum of agreement.

EWS-G1 has been serving Space Force’s mission since 2020 and is projected to reach end of service life by February 2024. EWS-G2 is expected to continue the mission through the 2030s.

/
NIST Outlines National Security Guardrails for CHIPS Incentives Program Through Final Rule
Published on
NIST Outlines National Security Guardrails for CHIPS Incentives Program Through Final Rule

The Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology has issued a final rule that seeks to implement measures meant to protect the incentives program under the CHIPS and Science Act from national security risks and maintain U.S. technological leadership in the semiconductor industry.

The rule sets standards to restrict recipients of CHIPS funding from expanding semiconductor manufacturing facilities in foreign countries of concern for 10 years following the award and prohibits recipients from adding new production lines or cleanroom space that lead to the expansion of a facility’s manufacturing capacity beyond 10 percent, NIST said Friday.

The policy classifies a list of semiconductors as critical to U.S. national security, including chips that are used for military capabilities, quantum computing and those used in radiation-intensive environments, and outlines restrictions on joint research and tech licensing efforts with foreign entities of concern.

“CHIPS for America is fundamentally a national security initiative and these guardrails will help ensure companies receiving U.S. Government funds do not undermine our national security as we continue to coordinate with our allies and partners to strengthen global supply chains and enhance our collective security,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

NIST issued the final rule after taking into consideration feedback and insights on the proposed rule introduced in March.

OMB Issues Digital Experience Guidance for Federal Agencies; Clare Martorana Quoted
Published on
OMB Issues Digital Experience Guidance for Federal Agencies; Clare Martorana Quoted

The Office of Management and Budget issued new policy guidance to help government agencies establish and modernize their websites and digital services.

The memorandum, entitled Delivering a Digital-First Public Experience, is part of the Biden administration’s efforts to improve federal services for the American public, Federal CIO Clare Martorana announced Friday.

The memo was drafted to support agencies’ compliance with the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act. The framework includes recommendations to implement design consistency across federal websites, simplify language to facilitate searching of online government information and accommodate traditional and new devices, from phones and mail to smart technologies.

“When people search online for information and services from our government, they get too many results with confusing answers and it’s not clear what they should do next. This is unacceptable. We can and must do better,” remarked Martorana, a Wash100 awardee. The digital experience guidance “gives the Federal workforce the support they need to build a truly digital government, reduce administrative burden, drive the next decade of digital modernization and transformation, and deliver on their missions in a modern way,” she said in a statement.

/
New Senate Bill Seeks to Promote Government Use of Multi-Cloud Technologies; Raghu Raghuram Quoted
Published on
New Senate Bill Seeks to Promote Government Use of Multi-Cloud Technologies; Raghu Raghuram Quoted

Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., introduced the Multi-Cloud Innovation & Advancement Act on Thursday with the aim of endorsing multi-cloud technologies as a solution to issues arising from prevailing approaches to cloud implementation within the government.

According to the office of Sen. Daines, current cloud adoption results in a variety of problems, such as compromised security, high costs and duplicative contracting.

The proposal calls on the director of the Office of Management and Budget to formulate, within a year of the bill’s being enacted, guidance containing a roadmap for the adoption of multi-cloud technologies across government agencies by Jan. 1, 2025, and descriptions of how such technologies might be put to use.

The OMB director would also have to provide Congress with a copy of the guidance and a briefing and recommendations on government agency implementation of multi-cloud technologies.

Daines said the bill will help the government keep pace with new technologies while protecting the information of Americans. Rosen voiced that she is working to promote the use of technologies like multi-cloud computing to bring about better government service.

Expressing support for the measure, VMware CEO Raghu Raghuram, commended Daines and Rosen and said, “This critical legislation will help the federal government adopt a cloud-smart approach, preparing federal agencies for a multi-cloud future.”

Fred Humphries, corporate vice president for U.S. government affairs at Microsoft, also praised the two lawmakers and shared that his company will work to help realize the objectives of the law.

/
Air Force, SAIC Migrate Project Management Resource Tools to Cloud One
Published on
Air Force, SAIC Migrate Project Management Resource Tools to Cloud One

The U.S. Air Force and SAIC have migrated the former’s Project Management Resource Tools to Cloud One, a cloud computing platform for Department of Defense organizations.

The migration took two years and was completed in July 2023 through the collaboration of PMRT Program Office, Acquisition Integration Directorate under the Secretary of the Air Force, PMRT’s O&M Contractor, C1 Program Office and SAIC, the Air Force said Sunday.

The suite of enterprise tools is used for documenting, managing and reporting financial requirements to support annual budget cycle-related activities. It also assists in several key facets of the acquisition program.

PMRT supports more than 44,373 active Air Force, Space Force, Army and Special Operations Command professionals, as well as other DOD acquisition and financial employees worldwide at Impact Level 5.

In 2020, SAIC was awarded a potential $727 million contract to provide the Air Force and Army with cloud migration services. The company was responsible for carrying out the infrastructure and application planning, engineering and integration to enable cloud operations of the user’s information technology portfolio.

/
Capgemini, JMA Wireless Win in Multiple Categories at NTIA 5G Challenge
Published on
Capgemini, JMA Wireless Win in Multiple Categories at NTIA 5G Challenge

IT services provider Capgemini won first prize in the multi-vendor end-to-end integration category at the 2023 5G Challenge, bringing home $750,000. The company’s engineering business also received $100,000 under the wraparound emulation testing category.

For its part, JMA Wireless was named one of two winners under the best software bill of materials category, receiving $100,000. The networking hardware provider was also deemed a winner under the wraparound emulation testing category, bringing home an additional $100,000, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration said Thursday.

Organized by the NTIA’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences in partnership with the Department of Defense, the competition seeks to promote the adoption of multi-vendor solutions, 5G open interfaces and interoperable systems.

The 2023 edition of the 5G Challenge, the second in its history, strove to reward contestants capable of integrating hardware and software for key 5G network subsystems. A total of $7 million in prizes was awarded for the competition.

Alan Davidson, the administrator for the NTIA and assistant secretary of commerce, congratulated the winners of the 2023 5G Challenge and said the technologies they demonstrated offered a glimpse of a future characterized by a global telecommunications supply chain that is resilient, competitive and diverse.

/
Pentagon Submits Selected Acquisition Reports to Congress
Published on
Pentagon Submits Selected Acquisition Reports to Congress

The Department of Defense has handed to Congress annual selected acquisition reports as part of the president’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2024.

DOD said Friday SARs have been submitted for 75 major defense acquisition programs and 20 middle tier of acquisition programs.

The acquisition reports for MDAPs include 36 for the Department of the Navy, 21 for the Department of the Air Force and 16 for the Department of the Army.

The Missile Defense System and Chemical Demilitarization-Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives are the two additional MDAPs under the purview of the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.

Meeting the MDAP cost threshold are 20 MTA programs, including 12 for the Department of the Air Force and five for the Department of the Army.

/
Lockheed Launches New Center Highlighting Remote Satellite Operation Tech; Maria Demaree Quoted
Published on
Lockheed Launches New Center Highlighting Remote Satellite Operation Tech; Maria Demaree Quoted

Lockheed Martin has opened a new technology test bed to illuminate the potential of a web-based, secure cloud infrastructure to enable operators to manage multiple space missions concurrently.

Located on Lockheed’s Denver, Colorado campus, the Operations Center of the Future will leverage the company’s Compass Mission Planning and Horizon Command and Control software to demonstrate remote satellite management, Lockheed announced from Littleton, Colorado earlier this month.

Maria Demaree, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Space’s national security space unit and a 2023 Wash100 Award winner, said the center’s advanced artificial intelligence, automation and cloud capabilities allow operators at any location to stay closer to the mission than ever before.

“Remote operators can instantly receive timely mission alerts about satellite operations, and then securely log-in to make smart, fast decisions from virtually anywhere,” she elaborated.

The Operations Center of the Future’s technologies have already been used to fly over 50 spacecraft in various government, research and commercial space missions. Lockheed’s software enables operators to manage single satellites as well as complete constellations of related or different satellite varieties simultaneously at nearly any location. With the included AI/machine learning tools, operators are able to control almost any size of satellite constellation, and because the center allows operators to use the same baseline software across different missions, it requires minimal staff to function.

Earlier this year, the test bed successfully showcased its concept of operations with the flight of Lockheed’s In-space Upgrade Satellite System demonstrator, displaying how small satellites can improve and sustain space architectures. In the future, the center is anticipated to command and control the organization’s Pony Express 2, TacSat and LM 400 on-orbit technology demonstration missions.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth & Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George Weigh in on Major Army Transformation Initiatives
Published on
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth & Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George Weigh in on Major Army Transformation Initiatives

The U.S. Army is embracing constant transformation and interoperability to adapt to the evolving battlefield, according to top Army officials.

During a discussion with the Center for Strategic and International Studies last week, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth and recently appointed Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George noted Project Convergence, multinational exercises and recruiting efforts as three ways the service branch is shaking things up, the Army said on Sunday.

Wormuth, a 2023 Wash100 winner, said the Army is moving away from a strictly annual cycle for Project Convergence to create more space to “learn fully from last year’s experience and really build the set of experimentation cases for the next year.” She said the service branch found that absorbing lessons learned from the previous year takes longer than just 12 months.

George emphasized the importance of interoperability in developing the force. In recent months, the Army participated in two significant multinational exercises with U.S. allies. During Super Garuda Shield, which concluded earlier this month in Indonesia, military personnel from 14 nations — including newcomers Australia, Singapore and Japan — came together for arms, live-fire and amphibious and airborne exercises. In July and August, the Army joined Australia’s Talisman Sabre program, where the service branch and international allies defended an island chain from a hostile entity.

In the realm of recruitment, the Army has set a goal of recruiting approximately 60,000 new Soldiers each year. Though the service branch does not expect to reach its target recruiting numbers this year, Wormuth said she has seen the pace of new recruits speed up in the past couple of months.

Another part of building up the force, said George, is improving the methods used to train and educate its personnel.

George characterized the Army’s strategy as viewing warfighting as “continuous transformation.” What this means, he said, is tying each piece together to “make sure we’re doing this in a continuous fashion.”

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth & Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George Weigh in on Major Army Transformation Initiatives

Interested in learning more about how the Army is adapting to modern battlefield requirements? At ExecutiveBiz’s Army Acquisition Priorities: Balancing Readiness and Modernization Forum on Nov. 8, you will have the opportunity to hear insights from top Army officials and industry experts on the service branch’s efforts to upgrade its acquisition processes and deploy cutting-edge technologies. Click here to learn more, and click here to register to attend.

1 … 545 546 547 548 549 … 2,703