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NRO, SSC Launch NROL-69 Mission Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket
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NRO, SSC Launch NROL-69 Mission Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

The National Reconnaissance Office and Space Systems Command have launched the NROL-69 mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The launch highlights the ongoing partnership with SSC to ensure reliable access to space for national security missions, NRO said Monday. During the operation, Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 and returned to landing zone 1 after delivering the payload to orbit.

Advancing US National Security Interest

The partnership under the National Security Space Launch program is a critical step in protecting U.S. interests in space, according to Col. Eric Zarybnisky, director of NRO’s Office of Space Launch. “Together, we are advancing national security by ensuring the U.S. maintains resilient and cost-effective space capabilities to meet evolving threats and deliver vital intelligence,” he explained.

Prior to the mission’s start, the launch team examined the flight hardware and integration elements to reduce risks, said Col. Jim Horne, senior materiel leader of launch execution at the U.S. Space Force.

“It was our first NSSL mission this calendar year and it hit the mark right in the middle,” he added.

Creating an Advanced Satellite Constellation

NROL-69 is the NRO’s initial mission with SpaceX under the SSC-supervised NSSL program. In the past two years, the office has sent over 150 satellites into orbit to establish what it characterizes as the most advanced government constellation in U.S. history. The NRO has scheduled more launches in 2025 to advance its mission of rapidly delivering the right data to the right user at the right time.

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Catherine Eschbach Named Labor Dept Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Director
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Catherine Eschbach Named Labor Dept Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Director

Catherine Eschbach has been named director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs in the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Labor Department said Monday Eschbach will be responsible for overseeing the OFCCP as it implements the new executive order rescinding EO 11246, which aims to end “illegal discrimination” and restore merit-based opportunity in federal contracting, primarily by dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, practices.

Eschbach on EO 11246 and DEI Practices

“President Trump made clear in his executive order on eliminating DEI that EO 11246 had facilitated federal contractors adopting DEI practices out of step with the requirements of our Nation’s civil rights laws and that, with the rescission of EO 11246, the president mandates federal contractors wind those practices down within 90 days,” said Eschbach. “As director, I’m committed to carrying out President Trump’s executive orders, which will restore a merit-based system to provide all workers with equal opportunity,” she added.

Career Achievements

The new DOL executive most recently worked as an appellate attorney for six years at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where she honed her knowledge on complex constitutional, statutory and administrative law issues. Escbach led the firm’s efforts to ensure the federal government’s practices adhered to constitutional limits, including those affecting OFCCP.

Earlier in her career, Eschbach worked as a judicial law clerk for Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He served the same role for Judge David Hittner of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

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DOE Modifies $900M Proposal Solicitation for Small Nuclear Reactors
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DOE Modifies $900M Proposal Solicitation for Small Nuclear Reactors

The Department of Energy has modified its solicitation for contractor proposals on its $900 million program for the U.S.-wide deployment of Generation III+ small modular reactors, or Gen III+ SMRs. The changes to the initial solicitation issued in October were made to keep the project in tune with the Trump administration’s policies, DOE said in a statement Monday.

“This solicitation is a call to action for early movers seeking to put more energy on the grid through the deployment of advanced light-water small modular reactors,” said Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.

The modifications include removal of all community benefits information required in the initial solicitation. The funding amount description and references on the program’s second tier for fast follower deployment support was also reworded to “approximately $100M” from the initial “up to $100M.”

The program’s first tier is focused on a first mover team support with a maximum $800 million funding for two teams composed of utility, building and other plant contractors for the first two Gen III+ SMRs.

Resubmission of Previous Proposals

The DOE said previous proposal submissions will not be evaluated, and entities that had applied need to revise their applications, including the deletion of any Community Benefit Plan information. 

According to the department, new proposals will also be accepted, with April 23 as the deadline for both new proposals and resubmissions. It also stressed that the management of submissions’ filing and processing has been moved to FedConnect, wherein registration for a new company account is open only to individuals designated as points of contact in SAM.gov.

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NSF IT Office Chief Terry Carpenter Retires
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NSF IT Office Chief Terry Carpenter Retires

National Science Foundation Chief Information Officer Terry Carpenter has retired, Nextgov/FCW reported Friday.

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CIO Since January 2024

Carpenter stepped down from his position at the end of February. He had headed the NSF’s IT office since January 2024. His appointment to the role took place alongside the establishment of Office of the Chief Information Officer, which was carried out as part of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.

Acting CIO

Carpenter has been succeeded by Clyde Richards Jr. in an acting capacity. Richards had previously served as NSF deputy CIO, a position he took on in March 2024.

Before joining the NSF, Richards was part of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency and, before that, the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army.

He has also served in the Defense Contract Management Agency and the U.S. Army.

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EO Grants Federal Officials Full Access to Unclassified Agency Data
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EO Grants Federal Officials Full Access to Unclassified Agency Data

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to remove information silos by directing agency heads to grant federal officials full and prompt access to all unclassified agency data, records, software and IT systems as part of efforts to identify and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. 

Required OMB Reports

Within 30 days, agency heads should rescind or amend agency guidance that hinders inter- or intra-agency sharing of unclassified data and submit to the Office of Management and Budget a report cataloging agency regulations that govern unclassified data access.

The report to OMB should also contain recommendations on whether any of the identified regulations should be modified or eliminated to meet the EO’s goals.

The president also directs agency heads to assess classified information policies to determine whether they lead to the classification of materials beyond what is necessary to safeguard critical national security interests.

The EO gives agency heads 45 days to submit a report to OMB outlining those policies and recommending whether any should be amended or eliminated.

Labor Secretary’s Access to Records

To strengthen fraud identification efforts, the new presidential action grants the secretary of the Department of Labor and designees unrestrained access to all unemployment data and related payment records, including those currently available to the department’s Office of Inspector General.

Other Requirements

The new policy directs agency heads to ensure that the federal government has unrestricted access to comprehensive data from state programs that receive federal funding, including data in third-party databases.

In a fact sheet published Thursday, the White House said the EO seeks to improve accountability, foster interagency collaboration and streamline government operations by ensuring that agencies share critical data in accordance with privacy protections.

According to the White House, the federal government has made approximately $2.7 trillion in improper payments over the last two decades.

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Agency-Wide Revamp to Slash SBA Workforce by 43%
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Agency-Wide Revamp to Slash SBA Workforce by 43%

About 2,700 staff positions in the Small Business Administration will be phased out under an agency-wide reorganization. The workforce reduction, estimated at 43 percent of SBA’s estimated 6,500 employees, will generate over $436 million annual savings by 2026, the agency said in a statement Friday.

According to Kelly Loeffler, SBA administrator, the agency has doubled in size during the last four years, becoming an arm for “a partisan political agenda” under the previous administration and losing track of SBA’s goal of providing small businesses access to capital. 

“We have therefore submitted plans to pursue a strategic restructuring that will realign the agency and its resources with our founding mission,” the SBA head explained. She added that the planned manpower reduction will be pursued by eliminating non-mission critical positions while consolidating some functions. 

The workforce reduction also includes voluntary resignations, expiring term appointments and redundant functions, such as the positions created for processing Covid-era loans, SBA noted in its announcement.

Strengthening Oversight, Disaster Relief Functions

The agency’s accountability offices, including the Office of Advocacy and the Office of the Inspector General, are exempted from the manpower reduction. Current staffing levels with the Office of Veterans Business Development and the Office of Manufacturing and Trade will also be maintained to sustain SBA support for veteran businesses and U.S. manufacturing. 

SBA also noted that its loan guarantee and disaster assistance services, along with other core programs, will not be affected by the reorganization and manpower reduction. Instead, personnel will be added to the agency’s Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience to expand the office’s disaster loan processing operations. Cross-training of field office personnel will be undertaken to further enhance disaster recovery support.

In addition, the agency will decentralize its services and ensure that field operations deliver 30 percent of its services. Meanwhile, the revamp intends to centralize risk management and fraud prevention within the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to prioritize oversight on the integrity of the agency’s programs and funding.

In March 2024, the House Committee on Small Business conducted a hearing on reducing SBA mismanagement, following the Government Accountability Office’s findings and recommendations on fraudulent Covid-19 loans that the agency had extended.

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NRO Launches NROL-57 Mission to Boost Space Intel, Security
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NRO Launches NROL-57 Mission to Boost Space Intel, Security

The National Reconnaissance Office, in collaboration with the U.S. Space Force Space Launch Delta 30 and SpaceX, launched the NROL-57 mission on March 21.

The agency said Friday the mission was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Boosting Space-Based Intelligence Capabilities

NROL-57 is the eighth mission of NRO’s proliferated architecture and the second of 12 planned proliferated missions for 2025. It is intended to boost the United States’ space-based intelligence capabilities and strengthen national security. The latest mission is part of an initiative meant to develop the nation’s largest intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance constellation. 

Growing Satellite Constellation

With over 150 satellites deployed in the last two years, NRO has built the largest government constellation in U.S. history. Aside from NROL-153, launched in January, and NROL-57, the agency expects to deploy 10 more satellites this year. Around six of this year’s satellites will be tasked with enhancing NRO’s proliferated architecture. More proliferated launches will be launched until 2029.

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DISA Officials Discuss What Small Businesses Must Do to Win Contracts
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DISA Officials Discuss What Small Businesses Must Do to Win Contracts

Networking alone is not enough for a small business to secure a government contract, according to officials from the Defense Information Systems Agency. In a LinkedIn post published Friday, DISA provided guidance on what small businesses can do to secure their first government contract.

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Submit a Proposal

Carlen Capenos, small business director at DISA, recounted conversations she has had with small business owners. She said vendors attend events, collect business cards and even respond to agency notices but never submit a proposal. 

“I ask them about feedback on recent proposals, and the response is often, ‘Oh, we haven’t gotten there yet,’” she shared. 

The official emphasized that small businesses would not win a contract if they do not propose and even unsuccessful submissions offer valuable insights can can eventually land them a contract. 

Ask Questions

Christopher A. Gray, chief of the Contracting Office at DISA’s Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization – National Capital Region, advised small businesses to deeply understand the contracting process and requirements. 

“There’s not a single acquisition service requirement that comes out from DISA that doesn’t afford the opportunity to ask questions,” he pointed out. 

He also cautioned against overreaching, emphasizing the need to deliver on promised results. 

Gray explained that “a lot of small businesses try to extend themselves too far.” He warned, “it’s your reputation at stake.”

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Space Force Awards Contracts for CASR Pilot Program
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Space Force Awards Contracts for CASR Pilot Program

The U.S. Space Force has awarded contracts with a cumulative value of $1.1 million to four space monitoring companies to test the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve program, Breaking Defense reported Friday.

The selected contractors will provide space domain awareness data for the CASR program, which was launched on March 1.

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What Is CASR?

The CASR program is designed to utilize commercial space companies for military missions during wartime. Similar to the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, which will require commercial airlines to aid in military logistics operations, CASR will task space companies to provide satellite-based capabilities such as satellite communications, satellite tracking and ground imagery when necessary.

The pilot program is intended to test the processes and ensure the framework’s soundness. The selected companies “are providing a peacetime level amount of capability.”

Challenges With CASR

According to Col. Richard Kniseley, senior materiel leader of the commercial space office, Space Force is “still working through some issues or obstacles or challenges with industry” despite the program’s early launch. These issues include clauses enabling the U.S. government to force commercial satellite companies involved with the program to withhold service to other customers. Another challenge that needs to be addressed is clauses that prioritize services to military users.

Kniseley also mentioned the lack of funds as a challenge for the program. With little funding, Space Force only contracted four companies. However, the service awarded each with three-month contracts instead of one month.

Space Force plans to award CASR contracts to other mission areas including satcom, timing and navigation, positioning, and tactical surveillance, reconnaissance and tracking, or TacSRT.

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Air Force Seeks Input on Planned Upgrade of Global Satcom System
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Air Force Seeks Input on Planned Upgrade of Global Satcom System

The Department of the Air Force is conducting market research on the expected costs and required efforts to modify the Wideband Global Satellite Communications Joint Hub, or WGS JH, which will be used at commercial geosynchronous Earth orbit gateways.

Requirement for Joint Hub Variant Capabilities

The Air Force wants information from companies capable of providing joint hub variant, or JHV, capabilities and mission management system software upgrades for the Protected Tactical Enterprise Service, or PTES, the ground segment of a U.S. Space Force system that provides an anti-jam satcom capability, according to a notice posted Friday on SAM.gov.

The potential contractors are also expected to integrate, install, test and deploy a protected tactical waveform teleport capability at locations where the Department of Defense and its commercial partners operate to support the Protected Tactical Satcom-Global mission.

In addition, the vendors must demonstrate capabilities that comply with strict cybersecurity and information assurance requirements. To be considered for the project, interested businesses will be required to submit estimates of costs and timelines to build the JHV capabilities.

Submissions to Inform Government Procurement

The capability statements from interested parties and other information collected by the research effort will help the government determine its procurement approach for the requirement. Submissions will be accepted until April 21.

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