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Executive Moves/News
Voyager Names Dr. Cheryl Shavers to Board of Directors
by Sarah Sybert
Published on January 6, 2021
Voyager Names Dr. Cheryl Shavers to Board of Directors

Voyager Space Holdings announced the appointment of Dr. Cheryl Shavers to the company's Board of Directors on Wednesday. As a board member, Shavers will help guide Voyager as it continues on its mission to create a vertically integrated, publicly traded NewSpace company.

"Dr. Shavers is an accomplished technical expert and business executive. She has spent her career leading private companies and public entities; overseeing international equity investments and acquisitions and serving on federal committees related to national security, international science and commercial space," said Dylan Taylor, chairman and CEO of Voyager Space Holdings.

Shavers currently serves as founder, chairman and CEO of Global Smarts. She has nearly three decades of experience in the high tech industry, including engineering and managerial positions at Motorola, Hewlett-Packard and Intel. 

Previously, she was confirmed as undersecretary of Technology, where she headed the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) and the Secretariat for Space Commercialization. She also served as senior advisor to the Secretary of Commerce in forming new policies and program initiatives within science and technology.

Shavers' appointment adds to Voyager’s strategy to expand momentum generated in 2020 into 2021. "Despite a tumultuous 2020, commercial space was one of the few industries to not just hold steady, but grow. As we embark on a new year, I'm eager to join the Voyager Board as we work to achieve our goal of delivering any space mission humans can conceive," said Shavers. 

As part of Voyager’s expansion strategy, the company agreed to acquire a majority stake in XO Markets and its largest subsidiary Nanoracks. Nanoracks offers commercial space services for satellite deployment and research across more than 30 nations

Voyager plans to infuse growth capital to help drive Nanoracks utilization of ISS. The satellite deployer business has launched over 1,000 projects to the ISS, including microgravity research, small satellites and missions to both low-Earth orbit and deep space.

News/Press Releases/Wash100
Nominations Close for 2021 Wash100 Awards on Jan. 8th
by Sarah Sybert
Published on January 6, 2021
Nominations Close for 2021 Wash100 Awards on Jan. 8th

Executive Mosaic, the leading provider in connecting, promoting and branding government and government contracting (GovCon) executives of consequence, will accept your nominations for the upcoming 2021 Wash100 Award until Friday, Jan. 8th. To nominate your favorite executive for this prestigious award, visit the Wash100 website.

“It’s been a true privilege bestowing the Wash100 Award to the many deserving executives of the government and GovCon sector as well as the supporting organizations,” said Jim Garrettson, CEO of Executive Mosaic. “They continue to lead by example in the five tenets of the award: leadership, vision, innovation, reliability and achievement.”

Recipients of the Wash100 were first recognized by Executive Mosaic in 2014. Since then, the Executive Mosaic organization and media team have annually selected 100 of the most noteworthy leaders in the government contracting industry.

The Wash100 is the premier group of private and public sector leaders selected by Executive Mosaic’s organizational and editorial leadership as the most influential leaders in the GovCon sector.

Nominations for representatives of government contracting firms, policy groups, government advisers, consulting organizations, academic institutions and other industry related organizations will be accepted through Jan. 8.

With a record turnout in 2020, Executive Mosaic has anticipated that the 2021 Wash100 Awards will receive the highest number of nominations since its inception. To ensure your voice is heard, and your favorite executives have a chance to be recognized, please visit https://wash100.com/ to cast your nominations before Friday, Jan. 8th.

About Wash100

This year represents the eighth annual Wash100 Award selection. The Wash100 is the premier group of private and public sector leaders selected by Executive Mosaic’s organizational and editorial leadership as the most influential leaders in the GovCon sector. These leaders demonstrate skills in leadership, innovation, reliability, achievement, and vision. Visitors to https://wash100.com/ can sign in and vote for the executives they believe will have the greatest impact on government contracting in the coming year.

The media team at Executive Mosaic writes individualized articles for each recipient of the Wash100 award, providing a write up on the executive centered around their career history and highlights.

Executive Moves/News
FAA’s Drone Advisory Committee Adds 12 Members
by Matthew Nelson
Published on January 6, 2021
FAA’s Drone Advisory Committee Adds 12 Members

The Department of Transportation (DoT) has named 12 new members of a cross-sector panel that advises the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on safety efforts to integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system. 

Drone Advisory Committee appointees will serve for a term of up to two years, FAA said Tuesday.

The panel is led by Michael Chasen, chairman of the advisory board at PrecisionHawk USA, and chartered to include up to 35 representatives from the government, academic and commercial sectors who share UAS interests.

The new DAC members are: 

  • Adam Bry, CEO and co-founder of Skydio
  • Brad Hayden, CEO and founder of Robotic Skies
  • Brandon Torres Declet, CEO and co-founder of Measure
  • Catherine Cahill, director of Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration
  • David Carbon, vice president and general manager at Amazon's Prime Air business
  • Jaiwon Shin, executive VP, head of urban air mobility division and CEO at Genesis Air Mobility
  • Kenji Sugahara, CEO and president of Drone Service Providers Alliance
  • Matt Parker, president of Precision Integrated Programs
  • Molly Wilkinson, VP of regulatory affairs at American Airlines
  • Paul Hsu, founder and chair of HSU Foundation
  • Seleta Reynolds, general manager at Los Angeles Department of Transportation
  • Vic Moss, owner of Moss Photography
Government Technology/News
Joseph Evans: DoD Expects Five ‘Tranche 1’ Bases for 5G Experimentation to Be Operational by Fall
by Jane Edwards
Published on January 6, 2021
Joseph Evans: DoD Expects Five ‘Tranche 1’ Bases for 5G Experimentation to Be Operational by Fall

Joseph Evans, principal director for 5G within the office of the undersecretary for research and engineering at the Department of Defense, said DOD has made advances in setting up the five “Tranche 1” sites for 5G testing and experimentation efforts and expects those testbeds to be operational by the fall of 2021, DoD reported Tuesday.

In October 2020, the Pentagon awarded $600 million to 15 companies to support 5G experimentation at five U.S. military bases or Tranche 1 sites: Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington; Naval Base San Diego in California; Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany in Georgia; Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada; and Hill Air Force Base in Utah.

DoD announced seven Tranche 2 sites for 5G testing in June and Evans said the department is preparing to issue request for proposals for those military installations.

He said a request for white papers was issued for three Tranche 2 installations: Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California and Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.

"The solicitation for white papers closed on December 15," Evans said. "We're in the process of evaluating those. The next step — hopefully late January or early February — will be a request for proposals for those three bases." 

He said the Pentagon is collaborating with the National Spectrum Consortium to issue solicitations for four other military bases under Tranche 2.

"We hope those will be out in a similar time frame, early in the new calendar year," Evans said. "Those solicitations will be for experiments at Joint Base San Antonio, for experiments at the National Training Center and Fort Hood, as well as an experiment at Tinker Air Force Base.

Joseph Evans: DoD Expects Five 'Tranche 1' Bases for 5G Experimentation to Be Operational by Fall

Join Potomac Officers Club for its 5G Summit on Jan. 7th, 2021 featuring Maj. Gen. Kimberly Crider and Dr. Joseph Evans as keynote speakers to learn about the impact that innovative technologies and 5G integration have on the private and public sectors, the steps the federal agencies have taken to remain up to speed with the rapid advancement of technology, and the future programs, plans and priorities as the nation aligns with emerging technology.

Don’t miss out on this must see event! Register here for Potomac Officers Club's 5G Summit on Jan. 7th, 2021. 

Government Technology/News
House OKs Bill to Codify FedRAMP, Create Federal Cloud Advisory Panel
by Mary-Louise Hoffman
Published on January 6, 2021
House OKs Bill to Codify FedRAMP, Create Federal Cloud Advisory Panel

The House has passed by voice vote a bipartisan bill that seeks to codify the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program and establish an advisory panel that would coordinate procurement and cybersecurity efforts under the governmentwide cloud computing initiative.

The FedRAMP Authorization Act of 2021 would allocate a $20 million budget for General Services Administration (GSA) efforts to increase the availability of secure cloud offerings and require GSA to automate its process of assessing and monitoring technology offerings, the office of Gerald Connolly, D-Va., said Tuesday.

“For nearly four years, I have worked with the Office of Management and Budget, GSA, industry stakeholders, and my friends on the other side of the aisle to ensure that the bill makes needed improvements to the FedRAMP program, and also gives the program flexibility to grow and adopt to myriad future changes in cloud technologies," said Connolly, who serves as the bill's principal sponsor.

James Comer, R-Ky., and Jody Hice, R-Ga., co-sponsored the legislation.

The bipartisan bill allows the formation of a Federal Secure Cloud Advisory Committee to facilitate government-industry dialogue, the establishment of a “presumption of adequacy” for authorized cloud platforms and the reuse of technologies with authority to operate certifications.

Connolly's office noted that 211 products are FedRAMP-compliant and small businesses account for 30 percent of the 240 industry participants in the program. GSA found that the number of agencies reusing certified platforms under the program rose 50 percent during fiscal 2020.

Government Technology/News
DOD Seeks to Support Additional Information Systems With Expanded Common Enterprise Data Repository
by Jane Edwards
Published on January 6, 2021
DOD Seeks to Support Additional Information Systems With Expanded Common Enterprise Data Repository

The Department of Defense (DoD) has issued a notice announcing its move to update the current system of records called the Defense Repository for Common Enterprise Data to support and cover more information systems being created within DoD.

“The expanded system of records will support multiple information systems that provide DoD-wide and component-level enterprise solutions for integrating and analyzing targeted data from existing DoD systems to develop timely, actionable, and insightful conclusions in support of national strategies,” the notice reads.

The Pentagon is also modifying the authority for maintenance of the system, system location, purpose of the system, record source strategies, notification procedures, individuals covered by the system and system managers.

The Office of the Undersecretary of Defense Comptroller was the sole information system manager. With the update, system managers now include chief data officers from DoD and departments of the U.S. Air Force, Navy and the Army.

The Pentagon is scheduled to publish Wednesday in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking to exempt the updated system of records from some provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974.

Government Technology/News
Cyber Unified Coordination Group Provides Update on SolarWinds Orion Compromise
by Jane Edwards
Published on January 6, 2021
Cyber Unified Coordination Group Provides Update on SolarWinds Orion Compromise

The FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) issued a joint statement on Tuesday through the newly created cyber unified coordination group (UCG) to provide updates on an advanced persistent threat actor allegedly linked to Russia. 

“The UCG believes that, of the approximately 18,000 affected public and private sector customers of Solar Winds’ Orion product, a much smaller number have been compromised by follow-on activity on their systems. We have so far identified fewer than ten U.S. government agencies that fall into this category, and are working to identify and notify the nongovernment entities who also may be impacted,” the joint statement reads.

FBI is conducting an investigation based on four lines of effort: victim identification, evidence collection, analysis of evidence and sharing of results with partners in the government and private sector.

CISA’s efforts include information sharing activities, development of a free tool to detect malicious activity related to the cyber incident and issuance of a technical alert. ODNI is working to provide UCG with updated intelligence data to facilitate cyber response and mitigation activities within the U.S. government.

The NSA has been supporting UCG by offering technical mitigation measures, evaluating the scope and scale of the cyber incident and providing actionable guidance, cybersecurity and intelligence support to UCG partners and stakeholders within the defense and national security community.

The FBI, CISA and ODNI announced the formation of UCG in mid-December to facilitate a “whole-of-government response” to the cyber attack involving SolarWinds’ Orion Network Management products.

Government Technology/News
NSA Posts Cybersecurity Paper on Remediating Outdated Network Encryption Protocols
by Christine Thropp
Published on January 6, 2021
NSA Posts Cybersecurity Paper on Remediating Outdated Network Encryption Protocols

The National Security Agency (NSA) has warned about risks posed by obsolete encryption protocols and offered a cybersecurity information sheet for identifying and replacing outdated Transport Layer Security or Secure Sockets Layer configurations that could be used for decryption and exploitation of sensitive data.

The cybersecurity guidance, titled "Eliminating Obsolete TLS Protocol Configurations", is put together to assist network administrators and security analysts within the National Security System, Department of Defense and defense industrial base in detecting, prioritizing and remediating legacy protocol configurations and then blocking said network vulnerabilities, NSA said Tuesday.

NSS TLS protocols are required by a Committee on National Security Systems policy to comply with specified algorithm standards.

NSA said addressing obsolete encryption is needed to ensure that private data is not exploited and that computer system and network attack surfaces are minimal.

Aside from the cybersecurity paper, the agency also announced the availability of information about network signatures, sample configurations and links to more tools and resources at the NSA Cybersecurity Github site.

Government Technology/News
Tyndall AFB Introduces X-Ray Inspection Tech for Commercial Vehicles
by Matthew Nelson
Published on January 5, 2021
Tyndall AFB Introduces X-Ray Inspection Tech for Commercial Vehicles

Tyndall Air Force Base has fielded an X-ray machine to speed up the search process for vehicles carrying cargo and building materials.

The Mobile Vehicle Access Control Inspection System, dubbed as VACIS M6500, expedites the time needed to check commercial vehicles from 15 minutes to a two-minute time frame, the U.S. Air Force said Saturday.

"The image from the X-ray will allow us to quickly and efficiently scan for any anomalies, ensure the correct number of passengers are in the vehicle and confirm there is nothing in the cargo that should not be there," said Norman Shoemake, a search specialist at the 325th Security Forces Squadron.

USAF aims to process four times the number of vehicles within an hour through the device. The service branch noted base security previously asked drivers to turn off their vehicles and open all compartments for a thorough search procedure.

The $2.2 million machine is a part of a five to seven-year effort that seeks to rebuild Tyndall AFB following the effects of Hurricane Michael in 2018.

Government Technology/News
NASA Concludes Final Design Review of Observation Satellite for Space Force
by Nichols Martin
Published on January 5, 2021
NASA Concludes Final Design Review of Observation Satellite for Space Force

NASA has completed the final design review of an Earth observation satellite designed to fly for the U.S. Space Force, Space Ref reported Monday.

The space agency assessed multiple safety aspects of the Landsat-9 Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter or ESPA Flight System and concluded the final design review on Dec. 15.

The review verified the combined system's readiness for final integration activities. USSF's EFS would carry multiple satellite vehicles that will individually operate for civilian and national security missions. The Landsat-9 satellite will operate alongside EFS.

NASA plans to soon integrate the combined Landsat-9 EFS ahead of the launch scheduled for September 2021. Northrop Grumman designed and produced Landsat-9.

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ExecutiveGov, published by Executive Mosaic, is a site dedicated to the news and headlines in the federal government. ExecutiveGov serves as a news source for the hot topics and issues facing federal government departments and agencies such as Gov 2.0, cybersecurity policy, health IT, green IT and national security. We also aim to spotlight various federal government employees and interview key government executives whose impact resonates beyond their agency.

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