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Surface Water Observation Satellite Launches Aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9
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Surface Water Observation Satellite Launches Aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9

A satellite jointly developed by NASA and French space agency CNES to measure the height of water in oceans, lakes and other bodies of water on Earth’s surface took off Friday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from a launch complex at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite will collect information to glean insights on the impact of global warming on rivers, lakes and reservoirs and provide researchers with data to help improve projects for floods and droughts, NASA said Friday.

The SWOT spacecraft comes with the Ka-band radar interferometer or KaRIn developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to help engineers measure the height of the water’s surface across two swaths at a time.

“SWOT will provide vital information, given the urgent challenges posed by climate change and sea level rise,” said Laurie Leshin, director of JPL.

The space agencies of Canada and the U.K. contributed to the development of SWOT, which will begin collecting data in six months.

In addition to the KaRIn instrument, NASA has provided a GPS science receiver, a two-beam microwave radiometer, laser retroreflector and instrument operations for the spacecraft.

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Johns Hopkins APL Secures USAF IDIQ for Weapons Analysis Software, Hardware Tools
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Johns Hopkins APL Secures USAF IDIQ for Weapons Analysis Software, Hardware Tools

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory booked a $49.9 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contract to supply weapons analysis software and hardware systems to the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Under the terms of the cost-plus-fixed-fee award, APL will furnish platforms and tools that AFRL will use to develop and analyze the performance of sensors, payloads and subsystems, the Department of Defense said Friday.

Johns Hopkins APL is entitled to $500,000 upon award for the delivery of customized designed models, software routines, and hardware subsystems over a seven-year period ending Dec. 15, 2029. AFRL will obtain funds from its research, development, test and evaluation budget for fiscal year 2022.

The service branch chose APL through a sole-source solicitation process focused on university-affiliated research centers.

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USAF Installation & Mission Support Center Demonstrates Big Data’s Benefits Through Analytics Tool Upgrades
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USAF Installation & Mission Support Center Demonstrates Big Data’s Benefits Through Analytics Tool Upgrades

The U.S. Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center is working to enhance the capacity of its Installation Health Assessment analytics tool using a data lake that accommodates collaborations across the I&MS enterprise.

The initiative is part of a long-term effort to automate processes for collecting, storing and analyzing massive amounts of data in the entire Department of the Air Force, AFIMSC Analytics Chief Daniel Clark said.

AHI was initially created to integrate authoritative I&MS databases through predictive analysis and data visualization. The cloud-based platform has significantly expanded, serving more than 3,690 users responsible for assessing performance in various areas. AHI currently covers data in areas ranging from combat and command support, to facility services and support for airmen and their families.

To refine AHI, AFIMSC used VAULT, a data lake and analytics platform that enables collaboration and regularly updates data to maintain their reliability and relevance.

“Using Air Force-wide civil engineering data, we were able to model the current and future state of Air Force infrastructure across the enterprise. This allowed us to demonstrate the different approaches to maintaining, replacing and divesting Air Force infrastructure,” said Matthew Dawson, a data scientist in the AFIMSC Analytics Team. 

Another member of the team, James Kittleman, noted that the models ultimately “helped the Air Force secure an additional $2.1 billion in the planning, programming and budgeting process.”

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White House Issues Implementation Plan for In-Space Servicing Capability Development Strategy
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White House Issues Implementation Plan for In-Space Servicing Capability Development Strategy

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has introduced an implementation plan aimed at achieving the goals outlined in a national strategy that seeks to advance the development of in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing capabilities. It has been framed as an execution process for an ISAM goal outline that was issued in April.

The ISAM National Strategy has six strategic goals to promote ISAM capability development, the first three of which are advancing research and development related to ISAM, prioritizing the expansion of scalable infrastructure and accelerating the emerging ISAM commercial industry, the White House said Friday.

Promoting international collaboration and cooperation, fostering environmental sustainability and inspiring the future space workforce constitute the remaining three goals.

To support ISAM research and development, the document calls for the development of an ISAM test or demonstration capability for specific ISAM technologies and maintaining a repository of available ISAM capabilities, existing facilities, gaps and ongoing activities and relaying the information to regulatory agencies and mission developers.

When it comes to the expansion of scalable ISAM infrastructure, the implementation plan suggests specific actions such as working with industry, academia and organizations to develop standards for ISAM technologies and identifying gaps within U.S. government space infrastructure and ground test facilities and developing a plan to address those gaps.

Stakeholders from industry, government, academia and nonprofit organizations were consulted to inform the development of the implementation plan.

New DOD Office Leads Mission to Identify ‘Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena’
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New DOD Office Leads Mission to Identify ‘Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena’

The U.S. Department of Defense has provided an update on the work of the newly established All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office to collect and examine reports of “unidentified anomalous phenomena” that might threaten military and national security operations.

Sean Kirkpatrick, the director of AARO, said the office has developed and employed an analytic framework to analyze both old and new reports of unidentified objects and is working to expand UAP reporting across the land, sea, air and space domains, DOD reported Saturday.

“We have an important and yet challenging mission to lead an interagency effort to document, collect, analyze and when possible, resolve reports of any unidentified anomalous phenomena,” Kirkpatrick said.

He noted that the newly reorganized office is collaborating with both the defense sector and the intelligence community to prevent the misreporting of government activities as UAP.

“We are setting up very clear mechanisms with our ‘blue’ programs, both our DOD and IC programs, to deconflict any observations that come in with ‘blue’ activity to ensure that we weed those out and we can identify those fairly early on,” Kirkpatrick explained.

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EXPANSIA Awarded $900M Air Force Contract for Multi-Domain Systems Innovation; Adam “AJ” Jarnagin Quoted
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EXPANSIA Awarded $900M Air Force Contract for Multi-Domain Systems Innovation; Adam “AJ” Jarnagin Quoted

Technology consulting firm EXPANSIA has landed a multiple-award, 10-year contract with a ceiling of $900 million from the U.S. Air Force alongside several other companies.

Under the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, EXPANSIA will be responsible for devising new approaches to equip multi-domain systems with capabilities necessary for rapid prototyping, testing and capability transition, the Nashua, New Hampshire-based company announced on Monday.

“We are laser-focused on developing solutions and enhancing the Air Force capabilities through bold innovation in the Air, Space, and Cyber, and ultimately all domains in an integrated, Joint strategy with the other DoD services like the Army and the Navy, and the U.S. Marine Corps,” said Adam “AJ” Jarnagin, CEO and founding partner of EXPANSIA.

The contract’s performance location will be determined at the direct order level. It is expected to run through December 2032.

“We are deeply honored to play a pivotal role in this strategic initiative, which will directly improve USAF mission readiness,” Jarnagin stated.

Earlier this year, EXPANSIA won a contract from the Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office to develop, integrate, test and evaluate the prototype for the AGORA Digital Marketplace for Advanced Manufacturing, a web-hosted platform designed to hold a centralized repository of data and processes to enhance Air Force mission readiness.

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DARPA, USGS Name Winners of Mineral Assessment Competition; Stefanie Tompkins, David Applegate Quoted
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DARPA, USGS Name Winners of Mineral Assessment Competition; Stefanie Tompkins, David Applegate Quoted

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey have announced the winners of a competition that examines technology platforms that use artificial intelligence and machine learning to help USGS automate the process of evaluating geologic maps of mineral deposits that are critical to the U.S. economy and national security.

The AI for Critical Mineral Assessment Competition launched in August comes with the Map Georeferencing Challenge and the Map Feature Extraction Challenge, DARPA said Friday.

DARPA and USGS worked with MITRE and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to evaluate submissions of 18 teams from industry and academia.

Canada-based Unchartered landed the top spot in the Map Georeferencing Challenge. Jataware was awarded the second prize, and Team Ptolemy, which includes members from MIT, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Arizona, secured the third place.

A team from University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute and University of Minnesota received the top prize in the Map Feature Extraction Challenge. Team ICM from the University of Illinois and Unchartered took second and third places, respectively, in the challenge.

“Critical minerals are essential to the national security supply chain, and as such, the agency is approaching the need from multiple angles,” said Stefanie Tompkins, director of DARPA and a 2022 Wash100 awardee.

Tompkins added the agency’s collaboration with USGS focuses on the identification of existing domestic resources.

USGS Director David Applegate said the competition has provided an opportunity to work with AI experts and improve its approach to assessing critical mineral resources.

“It has already led to incredible time savings in how we prepare data in a machine-readable format,” Applegate added.

POC - 4th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit

The Potomac Officers Club will hold the 4th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit on Feb. 16. Click here to register for the in-person event at Hilton McLean.

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IARPA to Discuss Analytics Intelligence Program With Industry
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IARPA to Discuss Analytics Intelligence Program With Industry

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity will host a Proposers’ Day on Jan. 11 to explain the objectives and technical requirements of a new effort to facilitate artificial intelligence-based evidence analysis.

IARPA said Wednesday the Rapid Explanation, Analysis and Sourcing Online program aims to help intelligence analysts overcome data uncertainty and conflicts as they work on national security problems.

The agency plans to enlist industry to develop systems that will enable the automatic generation of feedback and improve analytical reasoning in critical government reports.

A resulting platform is intended to help intelligence analysts ensure they submit accurate and clear reports to the White House and policymakers in a timely manner.

IARPA to Discuss Analytics Intelligence Program With Industry

If you’re interested in AI advancements and programs across the government, sign up for the Potomac Officers Club’s 4th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit, an in-person event that will feature DOD Chief Digital and AI Officer Craig Martell as the opening keynote speaker.

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15th FITARA Scorecard Launches With New Category for Federal Cybersecurity Progress; Chris DeRusha Quoted
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15th FITARA Scorecard Launches With New Category for Federal Cybersecurity Progress; Chris DeRusha Quoted

The 15th iteration of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act scorecard launches with a new category that evaluates agencies’ progress in cybersecurity and shows that the General Services Administration was the only agency to reach a grade of at least 90 percent in the FITARA scorecard’s new cybersecurity category, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

According to FNN, 14 agencies scored above 80 percent. The departments of Justice and Health and Human Services recorded 88 percent each, while the Department of Education received a grade of 87 percent.

The Department of the Interior got the lowest score at 68 percent.

Chris DeRusha, federal chief information security officer and a previous Wash100 awardee, told the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s government operations subpanel that the Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday unveiled cyber metrics on the Performance.gov site.

“The metrics that we put up and performance.gov yesterday are a good representative sample where we’ve been focused in [cyber] executive order implementation,” he told the subcommittee during a hearing Thursday.

DeRusha cited as an example the metrics’ protect category, which he said focuses on four factors including smart patching, multifactor authentication and encryption.

“For us, we’ve been really focused on ensuring that we’re putting the most attention and understanding where there may be gaps in implementation, and opportunities for new policy interventions,” he added.

The U.S. Agency for International Development is the only agency that received an A rating in the scorecard, according to the report.

Seven agencies showed improvement in their letter grades, while 17 agencies maintained their scores. None of the 24 agencies received a D or an F grade.

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GAO: Federal R&D Obligations Rose by 30% Between FY 2012 and FY 2021
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GAO: Federal R&D Obligations Rose by 30% Between FY 2012 and FY 2021

The Government Accountability Office analyzed the National Science Foundation’s data on federal agencies’ annual research and development spending and found that federal R&D obligations increased by about 30 percent from $138.5 billion in fiscal year 2012 to approximately $179.5 billion in FY 2021.

The departments of Defense and Health and Human Services accounted for 77 percent of the total R&D funding in FY 2021, GAO said in a report published Thursday.

According to the report, the COVID-19 stimulus funding has made HHS a major funder of development efforts with development initiatives accounting for nearly 40 percent of the department’s R&D spending in FY 2021.

In FY 2021, industry and academic institutions received almost $90 billion in external R&D obligations.

The GAO report also provided details on program areas, participating agencies and funding levels of four multiagency initiatives that were organized to coordinate R&D investments in the areas of nanotechnology, networking and information technology, quantum information science and global change research.

“Funding for these initiatives increased over the previous decade, and accounted for roughly $14 billion in fiscal year 2020, just under 9 percent of the total federal R&D budget,” the report reads.

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