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DOE Announces 146 Programs Supporting Justice40 Initiative to Achieve Climate Goals
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DOE Announces 146 Programs Supporting Justice40 Initiative to Achieve Climate Goals

The Department of Energy has announced 146 programs that support the Biden administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure that the benefits of environmental investments flow to disadvantaged communities.

The list includes the Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid program that allocates $5 billion in funding to strengthen the national power grid and reduce power outages during extreme weather events, DOE said Monday.

Other initiatives include research and development projects funded by the Advanced Manufacturing Office, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program, the Pumped Storage Hydropower Wind and Solar Integration and System Reliability program and the Weatherization Assistance Program.

“Our Department-wide collaboration with community groups, utilities and local governments will result in climate action that advances environmental justice and invigorates economic revitalization and job creation to benefit Americans for generations,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

The Justice40 Initiative calls for federal agencies to deliver 40 percent of benefits of clean energy, sustainable and affordable housing, clean water and other climate-related investments to disadvantaged communities.

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Iridium Announces Revenue Uptick in Q2 2022 Financial Report; CEO Matt Desch Quoted
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Iridium Announces Revenue Uptick in Q2 2022 Financial Report; CEO Matt Desch Quoted

Satellite manufacturer Iridium Communications has released its financial report for the second quarter of 2022 and the company claimed a net income of $4.6 million, with a 17 percent increase in revenue from the same period last year.

The McLean, Virginia-based organization also reported on Tuesday a company-best $105.9 million operational EBITDA, which came in at a 12 percent increase from second quarter 2021.

Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium and an eight-time Wash100 Award recipient, shared that the company is experiencing intensifying interest in commercial products like Internet of Things and broadband, as well as their Push-to-Talk and GO! platforms.

“2022 is shaping up to be a blockbuster year for Iridium, as demand for equipment and new subscriber activations drove record revenue growth in the second quarter,” Desch attested.

Subscribers to Iridium’s services made up the majority (76 percent) of the company’s total revenue during Q2 2022. The latter figure amounted to $174.9 million, which comprised $132.9 million of service revenue and $42 million of revenue from equipment sales and engineering and support endeavors.

At the close of the second quarter, Iridium had 1,875,000 subscribers, nearly 100,000 more than it did at the end of the first quarter of the year and over 250,000 more than it did after Q2 2021. This significant growth was mainly attributable to expanded commercial Internet of Things business.

While Iridium’s commercial business is robust, the company also consistently acquires contracts and agreements for its voice and data services from government agencies. They continue to work under a $738.5 million fixed-price U.S. Space Force contract and total government-originating revenue was tallied as $26.5 million in the second quarter of the year. Its government subscribers accumulated at 144,000, a slight decrease from the prior-year period and the first quarter of 2022.

Within its second quarter update, Iridium also revised and published its full-year 2022 outlook, which projects a total service revenue expansion between 7 and 9 percent from the previous year and a full-year 2022 OEBITDA in the range of $410 million and $420 million. These hopeful statistics are boosted from the company’s projections at the end of the first quarter due to the company’s progression of positive sales results.

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Siemens Government Technologies Receives $295M IDIQ Contract From U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville; John Ustica Quoted
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Siemens Government Technologies Receives $295M IDIQ Contract From U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville; John Ustica Quoted

Siemens Government Technologies (SGT) announced on Tuesday that the company has received a potential seven-year, $295 million Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract from the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville to increase operational efficiencies, safety, and security throughout federal facilities.

“SGT works closely with federal agencies to deliver the most modern building automation systems with open and backward compatible interfaces for efficient, safe and secure buildings. We are pleased to have been selected for this worldwide contract supporting vital U.S. government infrastructure,” said John Ustica, interim president and CEO of SGT.

Additional products and services under this contract include the procurement and installation and maintenance and service of Utility Monitoring and Control Systems (UMCS) as well as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Systems and other Automated Control Systems including Electronic Security Systems (ESS) and force protection measures and other Industrial Control Systems (ICS) at worldwide federally-owned buildings and facilities.

As the integrator of Siemens’ comprehensive portfolio of smart infrastructure solutions for federal customers, SGT provides federal agencies with a streamlined procurement and implementation path for improving operational efficiency, reliability, and cost-savings at installations and depots throughout the country and world.

SGT is at the forefront of providing advanced building and security technologies, which includes Siemens Desigo, a technology backbone for smart building infrastructure that is modular and flexible, capable of evolving with building management requirements of any facility over time.

About Siemens Government Technologies

Siemens Government Technologies is the wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Siemens Corporation whose mission it is to secure and modernize the largest infrastructure in the world, the U.S. Federal Government. It does so by being the leading integrator of Siemens’ innovative products, technologies, software and services in the areas of digital engineering and modeling, efficient and resilient energy solutions, and smart infrastructure modernization.

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Stephen Lyon Named National Space Defense Center Director
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Stephen Lyon Named National Space Defense Center Director

Stephen Lyon, former chief of force assessments at the U.S. Space Force, has assumed his new role as director of the National Space Defense Center and NSDC’s parent organization Joint Task Force-Space Defense, according to his LinkedIn post published Monday.

NSDC, which was originally called the Joint Interagency Combined Space Operations Center, is responsible for coordinating information-sharing efforts across the national security space enterprise and operates as a subordinate of JTF-SD at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado.

Prior to joining USSF, Lyon held a short stint as deputy director of the National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing.

He previously held various positions within the U.S. Air Force, including eight years of service in the 3rd Space Experimentation Squadron.

Lyon also commanded National Reconnaissance Office operations at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico and worked for Canada’s national defense department as director of space operations.

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ARC Lands $60M Contract Extention for JADC2 Project Applications
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ARC Lands $60M Contract Extention for JADC2 Project Applications

ARC has secured a five-year, $60 million phase III award under the Small Business Innovative Research program to continue working on project applications in support of the Department of Defense’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control initiative.

The company said Monday it will integrate its miniaturized, artificial intelligence-enabled edge computing sensors into data sources on the battlefield to potentially provide warfighters with threat information.

The machine learning-powered projects are envisioned to make data insights available via mobile devices and heads-up displays in both connected and disconnected network environments.

“[The intent is] to organically integrate ARC’s capability into warfighter domains to streamline the user experience and help unlock additional value,” said Michael Canty, CEO of ARC.

DOD and the General Services Administration awarded the task order extension under a previously announced indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract.

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SBA Issues Final Rule on Past Performance Ratings for Small Business Contractors
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SBA Issues Final Rule on Past Performance Ratings for Small Business Contractors

The Small Business Administration has released a final rule that provides small business contractors with two methods for obtaining past performance ratings in compliance with section 868 of the fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.

The rule is set to take effect on Aug. 22, according to a Federal Register notice published Friday. For the first method, a small business contractor may use past performance for contract work carried out as a member of a joint venture.

Under the second method, the business may also utilize the past performance rating for work conducted as a first-tier subcontractor on a prime contract containing a subcontracting plan. 

For this second procedure, section 868 of FY 2021 NDAA “authorizes the small business to seek a past performance rating from the prime contractor and submit the rating with the small business’ offer on a new prime contract.”

According to the final rule, prime contractors must include in the requested rating several evaluation factors such as technical, cost control, schedule or timeliness and management or business relations.

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White House Memo Offers Info on Cyber Investment Priorities for FY24 Budget
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White House Memo Offers Info on Cyber Investment Priorities for FY24 Budget

The Office of Management and Budget and the Office of the National Cyber Director have issued a memorandum outlining the Biden administration’s cybersecurity investment priorities that federal agencies should focus on as they formulate their budget submissions for fiscal year 2024.

These investment priorities are categorized into three areas: Improving the Defense and Resilience of Government Networks; Deepening Cross-Sector Collaboration in Defense of Critical Infrastructure; and Strengthening the Foundations of Our Digitally-Enabled Future, according to the memo released Friday.

For the first investment priority area, federal civilian executive branch agencies should prioritize information technology modernization and zero trust implementation in their budget submissions for FY 2024.

To facilitate cross-sector collaboration, budget submissions for the upcoming fiscal year should ensure that sector risk management agencies have adequate resources to carry out their responsibilities under section 9002 of the fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.

For the third priority area, agencies should prioritize human capital, physical infrastructure and supply chain risk management.

OMB and the Office of the Science and Technology Policy also released a memo detailing the White House’s multiagency research and development priorities for FY 2024, including preparing for and preventing pandemics, tackling climate change and advancing national security and technological competitiveness.

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Dennis Andrucyk to Retire From NASA Goddard Center Director Post
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Dennis Andrucyk to Retire From NASA Goddard Center Director Post

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center is on the hunt for a new director after Dennis Andrucyk, who has led the Maryland-based research laboratory since January 2020, announced his plans to retire from federal service.

The 34-year NASA veteran will continue to lead the center until a replacement is named, the space agency said Tuesday.

Under Andrucyk’s leadership, Goddard launched and commissioned the James Webb Space Telescope, deployed the Landsat 9 satellite for Earth monitoring and explored a near-Earth asteroid to collect samples using the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.

“In my view, his crowning achievement at Goddard’s helm has been overseeing the brilliant launch and awe-inspiring first images release of the James Webb Space Telescope, a mission that represents our vision at NASA to explore the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.

Andrucyk worked as a contractor and a civil servant at the Department of Defense before he joined the space agency in 1988.

His federal career also includes time at the National Security Agency and the Naval Research Laboratory.

In the private sector, Andrucyk worked for Westinghouse Electric, General Electric and Northrop Grumman.

He is a recipient of multiple awards for his government service such as the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, Goddard Outstanding Leadership Honor Award and the Senior Executive Service Meritorious Presidential Rank Award.

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Former Google Exec Camille Stewart Gloster Joins Office of the National Cyber Director; Chris Inglis Quoted
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Former Google Exec Camille Stewart Gloster Joins Office of the National Cyber Director; Chris Inglis Quoted

Camille Stewart Gloster, a cyber and technology attorney, has been named deputy national cyber director for technology and ecosystem security at the White House Office of National Cyber Director.

National Cyber Director Chris Inglis said in a statement published Monday Stewart Gloster has been a pioneer leading cyber issues for more than 10 years through leadership positions within the government and industry.

“The depth and breadth of her experiences will help the Biden-Harris Administration advance key priorities, including promoting the resilience of our software and hardware supply chain, building a more diverse cyber workforce, and strengthening cyber education for all Americans,” added Inglis, a 2022 Wash100 Award winner.

Before ONCD, Stewart Gloster previously worked at Google, where she served as global head of product security strategy and head of security policy and election integrity for Google Play and Android.

She previously worked at the Department of Homeland Security as senior policy adviser for international cyber and critical infrastructure during the Obama administration and founded an initiative that seeks to further promote diversity in the cybersecurity field.

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DARPA to Host Proposers Day for Muons for Science and Security Program
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DARPA to Host Proposers Day for Muons for Science and Security Program

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will hold a Proposers Day on Aug. 5 for a four-year program that seeks to build a compact source of subatomic particles called muons to support national security and scientific applications.

The Muons for Science and Security program intends to use laser plasma acceleration to initially develop 10 giga-electronvolt particles in the space of tens of centimeters and come up with scalable processes to generate conditions that can build muons exceeding 100 GeV, DARPA said Friday.

“Our goal is to develop a new, terrestrial muon source that doesn’t require large accelerators and allows us to create directional beams of muons at relevant energies, from 10s to 100s of GeVs – to either image or characterize materials,” said Mark Wrobel, MuS2 program manager at DARPA’s defense sciences office. 

“MuS2 will lay the ground work needed to examine the feasibility of developing compact and transportable muon sources,” he added.

The program will have two phases and Phase 1 will call for participants to perform preliminary modeling and scaling studies, validate models using experiments and generate 10 GeV muons over a 24-month period.

Under Phase 2 of the MuS2 program, research teams will come up with scalable accelerator designs exceeding 100 GeVs over a period of two years.

DARPA wants teams to have expertise in the areas of simulation, experimentation and laser driver and system studies.

“To address these diverse research areas, we anticipate building integrated teams composed of academia, national laboratories, and defense industries,” Wrobel noted.

Potential applications of muons include detecting the presence of special nuclear materials and other threat components and mapping the location of underground tunnels and chambers.

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