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Inspector General: DOD Components Should Reassess ATOs for Commercial Cloud Services
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Inspector General: DOD Components Should Reassess ATOs for Commercial Cloud Services

The Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General has recommended that chief information officers of DOD components require authorizing officials to reassess the clearance to operate for five commercial cloud services to ensure compliance with the DOD Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide.

The OIG made the recommendation after it found that AOs did not evaluate all the required documentation to measure the risks of commercial cloud offerings to information systems of the Army, Air Force, Navy and the Marine Corps when reevaluating the ATOs, according to a Feb. 15 report.

“Unless AOs review all required documentation to consider the risks to their respective systems, DoD Components may be unaware of vulnerabilities and cybersecurity risks associated with operating their systems or storing their data in the authorized commercial CSOs,” the report reads.

The inspector general’s office called on the DOD CIO to stress the importance of achieving compliance with the DOD Cloud Computing SRG.

The report also recommends that the director of the Defense Information Systems Agency coordinate with the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program’s Joint Authorization Board to require commercial cloud service providers to address vulnerabilities or document risk acceptance.

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NASA, Partners Unveil 2nd VR Competition for Mars Research
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NASA, Partners Unveil 2nd VR Competition for Mars Research

NASA has partnered with Epic Games and Buendea to launch a new competition to create virtual reality scenarios that replicate extravehicular activities on the surface of Mars.

The NASA MarsXR 2 Challenge is hosted on the HeroX crowdsourcing platform to support the development of a VR testbed environment simulating Mars’ gravity, weather conditions, terrain and day and night hues, HeroX said Thursday.

Participants will use Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 to create scenarios for the new Mars XR Operations Support System environment, which will also include assets for human expeditions, such as suits and rovers.

Scenarios developed from the competition will be used to test procedures and expose researchers to immersive and realistic spacewalk experience. Selected winners will receive $70,000 in total prizes.

The first MarsXR competition was launched in May 2022 to help NASA prepare and plan for conditions while conducting activities on Mars.

DOE Begins Construction of 3rd Generation Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power Plant
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DOE Begins Construction of 3rd Generation Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power Plant

The Department of Energy commenced construction of a third-generation concentrating solar-thermal power plant as part of a $100 million pilot research project at Sandia National Laboratories’ campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The $25 million Generation 3 CSP facility aims to demonstrate that its energy storage technology can preserve and deploy 1 gigawatt of power for an hour, the agency said Friday.

Sandia is primarily responsible for building and operating the CSP plant at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility. It teamed up with researchers in Saudi Arabia and Australia to test variants of the system’s critical components.

The pilot project, whose completion is expected in 2024, will work toward achieving particle-based CSP energy-plus-storage at the price of 5 cents per kilowatt-hour.

“This pilot facility will demonstrate how CSP systems can meet the challenges of providing long-duration energy storage while reducing costs and complexity for solar thermal technology,” said Alejandro Moreno, DOE’s acting assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy. “At the same time, it also provides a pathway to commercialization for industrial process heat.” 

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OMB Memo Seeks to Improve New Entrant Participation in Federal Marketplace
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OMB Memo Seeks to Improve New Entrant Participation in Federal Marketplace

The Office of Management and Budget has issued a memorandum that seeks to encourage agencies to improve the participation of recent and new small business entrants in the federal marketplace.

The memo published Friday presents a common definition of “new entrant” and “recent entrant” for federal acquisition as part of efforts to help agencies track their progress in retaining and bringing entities into the federal marketplace.

The document also provides guidance on how to use a supplier base dashboard to assess progress in achieving resilience and diversity in the federal supplier base and a procurement equity tool meant to help agencies identify potential entities that could participate in agency competitions.

According to the memo, OMB will come up with governmentwide priorities to strengthen supply chains by soliciting input from category managers and other experts.

Jason Miller, deputy director for management at OMB, signed the memo, which is aimed to align with the President’s Management Agenda to establish a healthy and diverse federal marketplace.

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U.S.-Australia Partnership to Support Responsible, Ethical AI R&D; Sethuraman Panchanathan Quoted
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U.S.-Australia Partnership to Support Responsible, Ethical AI R&D; Sethuraman Panchanathan Quoted

The national science agencies of the U.S. and Australia have partnered to support research and development of responsible and ethical artificial intelligence platforms designed to address infectious diseases, drought and environmentally harmful emissions.

The National Science Foundation-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation partnership has awarded grants to three teams of U.S. and Australian researchers to ensure AI algorithms are secure, fair and beneficial to citizens, NSF said Sunday.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln secured funding to work with the University of New South Wales on the development of AI-powered approaches to address challenging societal problems.

Emory University, Arizona State University and George Mason University will collaborate with UNSW and RMIT University to mitigate bias in AI-powered modeling and prediction of the spread of infectious diseases.

Researchers at University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Texas at Austin will team up with the University of Technology Sydney and the University of Melbourne to explore how scientific collaborations can improve pandemic response efforts.

“There is much to be done in the field of responsible and fair artificial intelligence, and we are eager to see how their research accelerates and innovates solutions that help solve critical challenges across AI-powered technologies,” said Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of NSF.

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Space Force Launches Commercial Partnership Program for Crisis Response Aid
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Space Force Launches Commercial Partnership Program for Crisis Response Aid

The U.S. Space Force and its procurement arm look to foster partnerships with commercial space companies to boost U.S. space asset security and enhance satellite-based services of the Department of Defense, SpaceNews reported Monday.

The Space Systems Command has initiated the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserves program to team up with satellite manufacturers, launch vehicle operators, satellite communication and imagery service providers and other commercial companies to help respond to space-related crises.

“We are talking about how we’re going to expand our commercial partnerships during peacetime to ensure we have access to commercial capabilities during times of crisis or conflict,” said Col. Rich Kniseley, chief of enterprise requirements at the space systems integration office of SSC.

He added that 84 companies signed up to participate in CASR so far and a funding proposal for the program is eyed for fiscal year 2025.

Space Force is looking to collaborate with providers of existing space services such as satcom, space domain awareness and commercial imagery.

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Jennifer Hay Named Principal Deputy of Directorate for Digital Services at Pentagon’s CDAO
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Jennifer Hay Named Principal Deputy of Directorate for Digital Services at Pentagon’s CDAO

Jennifer Hay, a national security and public policy senior professional, has joined the Department of Defense’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office as principal deputy of the Directorate for Digital Services.

DDS announced Hay’s appointment in a tweet posted Feb. 15.

Hay previously worked at DataRobot, where she served as head of global government relations and senior director of government affairs and national security strategy.

Her DOD career includes time as deputy director for intelligence and security programs within the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence; senior adviser to the deputy secretary of defense and adviser to the deputy director for special operations-counterterrorism within the Joint Staff.

Hay, a visiting fellow at the National Security Institute, also served in the White House as director for defense policy and strategy within the National Security Council.

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Space Force’s 6th Lockheed-Built GPS III Satellite Earns Operational Acceptance
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Space Force’s 6th Lockheed-Built GPS III Satellite Earns Operational Acceptance

The U.S. Space Force’s sixth Global Positioning System III space vehicle, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, has received operational acceptance approval and achieved satellite control authority handover less than a month after it launch.

Space Systems Command said Thursday it has transferred control of the GPS III Space Vehicle 06, nicknamed “Amelia Earhart,” to the 2nd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever Space Force Base in Colorado.

“The Operational Acceptance of GPS III SV06 further contributes to SSC’s on-going modernization efforts, as it brings our overall suite of capabilities ever closer to our target dates for deployment to the warfighter,” said Col. Heather J. Anderson, transition director within SSC’s Military and Communication Positioning, Navigation and Timing directorate.

GPS III SV06 is the latest operational satellite to join the Space Force’s GPS PNT constellation.

The Lockheed-built satellite launched on Jan. 18 aboard SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Marco Rubio Oversee Bipartisan Push for Funding All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office
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Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Marco Rubio Oversee Bipartisan Push for Funding All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office

Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., are spearheading a bipartisan proposal to increase the budget for a Senate office for unidentified aerial phenomena.

A total of 16 senators signed a letter to push for robust funding of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office in the fiscal year 2023 budget under the National Defense Authorization Act, according to a statement released Thursday by Gillibrand’s office.

AARO was created last year in an aim to report and resolve UAP sightings and potential threats through data from the Department of Defense and the intelligence community.

The letter sent to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and Stacey Dixon, principal deputy director of national intelligence, cites a funding shortfall for AARO for fiscal year 2023. The senators also appealed to Hicks and Dixon, both recipients of the Wash100 Award, to cooperate with Congress in ensuring proper funding for the office in FY 2024 and 2025.

Gillibrand and Rubio led the establishment of AARO after their UAP legislation was amended in the FY 2022 NDAA. Gillibrand serves as chair of the Senate Armed Services Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, and is a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, for which Rubio is vice chairman.

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Peraton’s Stu Shea & Northrop Grumman’s Roshan Roeder Spotlighted in Honor of 2023 Wash100 Award Wins
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Peraton’s Stu Shea & Northrop Grumman’s Roshan Roeder Spotlighted in Honor of 2023 Wash100 Award Wins

On Tuesday, Executive Mosaic highlighted the achievements of Peraton’s Stu Shea and Northrop Grumman’s Roshan Roeder, two of the most esteemed figures in the government contracting industry, for their 2023 Wash100 Award wins.

The Wash100 reached its landmark 10th anniversary this year, which represents its enduring prestige in the GovCon community. The annual award puts its nominees through a vigorous selection process used to identify the top 100 most distinguished officials in the vast GovCon landscape. This year, Shea and Roeder’s stellar accomplishments stood out among the competition, earning them spots in the 2023 Wash100 class.

The exciting annual Wash100 popular vote competition has launched. To vote for Stu Shea and Roshan Roeder as your favorite 2023 winners, please visit Wash100.com.

Shea, who serves as chairman, president and CEO of Peraton, won his seventh award this year in recognition of his continued commitment to the company’s growth strategy as well as its people.

Under Shea’s leadership, Peraton’s momentum from the previous year has continued into 2023. The enterprise kicked off 2022 with a $2.25 billion contract win from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, and shortly after, it won a $4 billion follow-on contract from the Navy. To read his full profile, click here.

A first time Wash100 winner, Roeder, corporate vice president of Northrop Grumman and president of its defense systems business unit, was recognized for her role in boosting the organization’s growth. By the fourth quarter, Northrop Grumman’s revenue had increased by 20 percent from the previous year.

Roeder has also worked to apply digital engineering methods to the design of new technologies necessary to meet the modern needs of the warfighter. Click here to read her full profile.

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