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NASA’s Webb Telescope Completes Primary Mirror Deployment; NASA Administrator Bill Nelson Quoted
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NASA’s Webb Telescope Completes Primary Mirror Deployment; NASA Administrator Bill Nelson Quoted

NASA has announced the full deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope’s 20-foot primary mirror.

The team responsible for the space observatory kicked off the unfolding process for the mirror on Friday, Jan. 7th, and completed it the next day, NASA said Sunday.

The development came days after the space telescope’s sunshield completed full deployment. The Webb spacecraft launched in December aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from the European Space Agency’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Webb will now move its 18 primary mirror segments to facilitate the alignment of telescope optics. The ground team will direct 126 actuators to flex each mirror and then calibrate the science instruments before the telescope starts to transmit initial images by summer. 

“The James Webb Space Telescope is an unprecedented mission that is on the precipice of seeing the light from the first galaxies and discovering the mysteries of our universe. Each feat already achieved and future accomplishment is a testament to the thousands of innovators who poured their life’s passion into this mission,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

The space observatory will then perform a third midcourse correction burn in order for Webb to reach its orbital destination around the second Lagrange point, also known as L2.

AT&T Expands Broadband Service Through New $14B Affordable Connectivity Program
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AT&T Expands Broadband Service Through New $14B Affordable Connectivity Program

A partnership between AT&T and Cricket Wireless has opened enrollment for the Federal Communications Commission’s new Affordable Connectivity Program, which aims to lower the cost of broadband connectivity service for eligible customers.

As authorized by the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the ACP provides monthly service discounts to eligible households to increase the amount of citizens with affordable internet access for school, work, healthcare and other online services, AT&T said Friday.

AT&T’s participation in the ACP aligns with the company’s mission to close the “digital divide” through expanded and accessible internet connectivity.

Under the ACP, eligible households will receive up to $30 in monthly service discounts, while internet service will be discounted by $75 for eligible tribal land households. Benefits may be applied to new or existing home internet or wireless services from AT&T and Cricket Wireless.

The new $14 billion ACP replaces the temporary Emergency Broadband Benefit program, which expired at the end of 2021.

Existing benefits for current EBB enrollees are effective through March 1, 2022, at which time some benefit recipients may be required to undergo eligibility reverification. New applicants can confirm their eligibility with the National Verifier to enroll in the ACP. 

Additionally, the ACP has introduced new qualifying factors for the ACP. To view eligibility requirements and enroll in the ACP, visit acpbenefit.org

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Aly Bonilla Named VP of Investor Relations at BlackSky; Johan Broekhuysen Quoted
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Aly Bonilla Named VP of Investor Relations at BlackSky; Johan Broekhuysen Quoted

Aly Bonilla has been appointed vice president of investor relations at BlackSky Technology, a Herndon, Virginia-based geospatial intelligence company.

With nearly 25 years of financial management and investor relations experience, Bonilla is expected to help advance BlackSky’s investor relations strategy and act as a primary liaison between the company, its shareholders and the investment community, BlackSky reported Wednesday.

Bonilla will report directly to Johan Broekhuysen, BlackSky’s chief financial officer.

“Aly is a seasoned financial executive who brings a unique perspective and extensive experience in investor relations and financial planning for large, established companies, which will enhance BlackSky’s commitment to deliver long-term shareholder value and elevate our profile among analysts and investors,” said Broekhuysen.

Previously, Bonilla was vice president of investor relations for ORBCOMM, an industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication solutions provider. He also headed up investor relations at Office Depot, and occupied senior-level corporate finance positions at ADT, Tyco Simplex Grinnell and AutoNation.

With experience in financial planning and analysis, as well as operational finance, Bonilla holds a designation from Investor Relations Charter (IRC), which recognizes executives who demonstrate achievements in investor relations.

Bonilla’s appointment follows BlackSky’s slew of recent hirings in the third quarter of 2021 ahead of its merger with Osprey Technology Acquisition in Sep. 2021, which took the company public.

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Dartmouth College Professor Emily Blanchard Named State Department Chief Economist
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Dartmouth College Professor Emily Blanchard Named State Department Chief Economist

Emily Blanchard, an economics professor at Dartmouth College, has been appointed to serve as the State Department’s chief economist.

Blanchard will help the department analyze the economic factors of foreign policy and engage with known economists, financial institutions and other stakeholders, Antony Blinken, the secretary of state and a 2021 Wash100 Award winner, said in a statement posted Thursday.

She will contribute insights to help the government make decisions in the areas of supply chain, climate crisis mitigation, infrastructure, commercial diplomacy and trade.

The Foreign Service Institute and other organizations will work with Blanchard to bolster the State Department’s expertise in economy.

“The Office of the Chief Economist plays a key role in ensuring that our foreign policy benefits U.S. workers, their families and their communities, because in today’s world, economic security is national security,” Blinken said.

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NASA’s Rae Ann Meyer Promoted to Associate Director of Marshall Space Flight Center
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NASA’s Rae Ann Meyer Promoted to Associate Director of Marshall Space Flight Center

Rae Ann Meyer, formerly the deputy manager of Marshall Space Flight Center’s Science and Technology Office, has been named the center’s associate director.

Meyer will oversee day-to-day business operations, decision making and operational policy of the Huntsville, Alabama-based site, NASA said Thursday.

The newly promoted executive will support the oversight of 7,000 employees and an annual budget valued at about $3.6 billion. Her work will contribute to Marshall’s portfolio of science, technology and human spaceflight projects.

She helped Marshall plan and run a variety of science and technology efforts to support NASA’s goals in her previous role, which she was given in May 2019.

Meyer first joined NASA in 1989 as an engineer for control mechanisms at the same center’s propulsion laboratory. NASA has recognized her through various awards, such as the Silver Achievement Medal and the Outstanding Leadership Medal.

Court Rejects Biden Administration’s Motion to Lift Order Against Vaccination Mandate
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Court Rejects Biden Administration’s Motion to Lift Order Against Vaccination Mandate

A federal appeals court in Cincinnati has rejected the Biden administration’s request to lift a court order to temporarily block the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee, Bloomberg Law reported Friday.

The Department of Justice filed a motion for an emergency stay to pause a preliminary injunction issued by a federal district court judge in Kentucky arguing that the order will cause irreparable harm to the government’s ability to work with federal contractors in the three states.

In September, President Biden signed an executive order mandating federal workers to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in an effort to curb the spread of the disease.

Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued the injunction against the vaccine requirement on Nov. 30 and declined a similar request to lift the stay on Dec. 10, prompting the Biden administration to appeal to the Sixth Circuit.

Judge R. Stan Baker of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia also ruled to halt the implementation of the vaccination mandate for federal contractors across thecountry, stating that the president likely exceeded his authority under the Procurement Act.

The Biden administration has a pending request at the Atlanta-based Eleventh Circuit to dismantle the nationwide injunction against the mandatory inoculation rule. The White House has set a Jan. 4th deadline for federal contractors to comply with the requirement.

The Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment requires Department of Defense components to submit weekly reports about federal contractors who have refused to sign a contract clause to implement the mandate.

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BAE Systems Awarded $101.2M Navy Contract for USS Mitscher Modernization
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BAE Systems Awarded $101.2M Navy Contract for USS Mitscher Modernization

BAE Systems has been awarded a one-year, $1.9 million contract from the U.S. Navy for maintenance and modernization on the USS Mitscher (DDG 57), a guided-missile destroyer. If all options are exercised, the docking selected restricted availability (DSRA) contract award could reach $101.2 million.

The defense contractor said Thursday that it will dry-dock the ship in its Norfolk, Virginia shipyard from March 2022 to April 2023. BAE will then perform underwater hull preservation work, support the Navy’s restoration of the ship’s Aegis combat system as well as its command and control equipment and refurbish living spaces for the ship’s 285 crewmembers.

There are over 1,100 personnel on hand at BAE’s Norfolk, Virginia shipyard, which Vice President and General Manager of BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair Mike Burneau anticipates as an asset to the process.

“With our subcontractor teammates and Navy personnel alongside, we will apply our experience with the DDG class to ensure this ship returns to the fleet mission-ready and fully capable to support our national security,” Burneau said.

USS Mitscher was commissioned in 1994 and named after Admiral Marc Mitscher, commander of the Navy’s main striking force during the second half of World War II.

In June 2021, BAE Systems was tapped to perform maintenance and modernization on the USS San Diego (LPD 22), an amphibious transport dock.

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Small Businesses Secure DOE Funds to Pursue Renewable Energy Tech Projects; Jennifer Granholm Quoted
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Small Businesses Secure DOE Funds to Pursue Renewable Energy Tech Projects; Jennifer Granholm Quoted

The Department of Energy has issued $35 million in funding awards to 158 small business-led projects that will focus on developing technologies designed to promote clean energy and limit climate change impacts. 

DOE said Thursday the grants will come from the department’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs to support studies in areas such as plastic recycling, engineering simulation, carbon capture and hydrogen energy storage.

Birch Biosciences secured $256,492 to develop a synthetic biology-based closed-loop process to recycle plastic materials.

Novoreach Technologies aims to create a carbon capture system under a $200,000 grant and ExMat Research will work on a phosphorus monitoring sensor with its $250,000 award.

“Supporting small businesses will ensure we are tapping into all of America’s talent to develop clean energy technologies that will help us tackle the climate crisis,” said DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

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Mark Andress on NGA’s Cloud, Machine Learning, Cybersecurity Efforts in 2022
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Mark Andress on NGA’s Cloud, Machine Learning, Cybersecurity Efforts in 2022

Mark Andress, chief information officer at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, said NGA is set to undergo several technology shifts in cloud, machine learning and cybersecurity in 2022 and one of the developments is the agency’s transition of workloads from the Commercial Cloud Services program to the intelligence community’s Commercial Cloud Enterprise contract, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

In November 2020, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, IBM and Oracle won spots on the C2E contract awarded by the CIA. Andress said the shift to the new contract “presents huge opportunities.”

For ML and artificial intelligence, he said his office is setting out the information technology infrastructure to support the integration of the technologies. He noted that the adoption of natural language processing has enabled NGA to “eliminate countless man hours” through the automation of GEOINT processing and dissemination.

Andress talked about NGA’s shift to zero trust approach.

“Where we have got a lot of work to do, and I know this is going to take a lot of time, is really getting at that relationship in zero trust between an individual and a data element,” he said at an event Thursday. “And how you scale that at the enterprise level? Trust no one for any piece of knowledge unless that connection has been validated. So that’s going to be where we focus a lot in the near term.”

He also mentioned the agency’s planned deployment of a “common operating environment,” release an updated software strategy and plans to harness commercial GEOINT products and services.

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Lt. Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla Nominated to Lead Central Command
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Lt. Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla Nominated to Lead Central Command

Lt. Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of the U.S. Army’s 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, has been nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as head of Central Command, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Kurilla, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, would be promoted to four-rank general and succeed Marine Corps Gen. Frank McKenzie to oversee military operations in the Middle East if confirmed by the Senate.

Kurilla previously served as chief of staff at CENTCOM. His military career included time as commanding general of the 82nd airborne division, deputy director for special operations and counterterrorism at the Joint Staff and assistant commanding general at Joint Special Operations Command. He also served in the Gulf War and as a battalion commander in Mosul, Iraq.

His nomination comes as the current administration deals with the effects of U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iran’s nuclear program and regional influence.

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