Gen. Paul Nakasone, head of U.S. Cyber Command and a 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, said ensuring the security of the 2020 U.S. presidential elections against foreign threat actors and other cyber hackers is a top priority for the Department of Defense (DoD), DoD News reported Monday.

Nakasone, who also serves as director of the National Security Agency (NSA), said the 2016 election interference prompted DoD to carry out measures to protect future elections, such as forming a cybersecurity workforce equipped with the right policies and authorities and establishing partnerships with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), FBI and other agencies to gain insights into adversaries.

"We know our adversaries better than they know themselves," he said Monday at the Association of the United States Army's Thought Leaders webinar. "We're going to act when we see adversaries attempting to interfere in our elections," he added.

The National Security Commission (NSC) on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) has recommended that the U.S. should come up with a digital service academy and digital reserve corps to help the public sector attract more tech talent, FedScoop reported Monday.

NSCAI commissioners said Monday the digital academy would run as a fully accredited, independent entity with students performing internships in the government and private sector during breaks.

Jose-Marie Griffiths, NSCAI commissioner and president of Dakota State University, said members of the digital reserve corps would serve as instructors and advisers as they work on government projects on an annual basis for a minimum of 38 days.

“The United States government needs a better way to tap into the expertise of those who would like to serve,” Griffiths said.

The recommendations are part of NSCAI’s report for the second quarter of 2020 that was discussed in a video call.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said preliminary scores show that no agency will get an F or a D rating in the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act scorecard, Nextgov reported Monday.

Jamie Smith, the lawmaker’s communications director, told the publication that the FITARA scores of the 24 agencies are set to be finalized Tuesday, July 21, after a meeting with the Government Accountability Office in preparation for the biannual FITARA hearing on July 30.

Connolly said Monday at a hearing of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations that the FITARA scorecard grades show that federal agencies have been making great strides when it comes to IT modernization since the law’s implementation in 2015.

He also cited during the hearing the need for the federal government to update legacy IT systems.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has inaugurated a weather enclosure built to secure the Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The enclosure is built to contain the targets of hydrodynamic experiments and confinement systems within the accelerator, the Department of Energy (DoE) said Friday.

DOE noted the enclosure has various environmental controls that decrease wind and moisture and lower cold and heat stress during experiments. The department expects the enclosure to augment the accelerator's productivity by 43 percent.

DAHRT features two large X-ray machines built to yield freeze-frame radiographs of materials that implode at a speed of more then 10,000 miles per hour.

NASA is seeking feedback on a proposed liability framework to ensure the implementation of certification guidelines and insurance policies for private astronaut missions (PAM).

The agency said in a request for information posted Wednesday on the beta SAM website that it encourages input from third parties that may be impacted by the planned PAM framework including launch services providers and insurance companies.

NASA intends to select a PAM provider through which the agency will “impose requirements with respect to training, performing proximity operations and docking” with the International Space Station (ISS) as well as habitation aboard the orbiting laboratory.

NASA will certify commercial transportation vehicles for ISS missions while the PAM provider will handle matters such as crew training certification, information technology systems requirements, ISS safety guidelines and Multilateral Crew Operations Panel standards for private astronauts.

Responses to the RFI are meant to inform NASA’s efforts to modify the draft liability framework, identify appropriate types of insurance and develop a PAM implementation approach, the agency noted.

According to a Nextgov report, the RFI comes after NASA unveiled its Vision for Low-Earth Orbit Economy in June 2019. Last month, Virgin Galactic entered into a Space Act Agreement with NASA to develop an astronaut readiness program for private missions to the ISS.

NASA will accept feedback on the recent RFI through Sept. 1st, 2020.

The Department of Energy (DoE) is adding $118 million to an investment in cost-shared projects on technologies that convert coal, plastic and biomass into clean energy.

The Coal Flexible, Innovative, Resilient, Small, Transformative or Coal FIRST program aims to develop powerplants that convert these raw materials into hydrogen and carbon-neutral electricity, DOE said Friday. DoE has allotted $37 million for seven projects and has launched a new $81 million funding opportunity announcement for Coal FIRST. The new FOA is open competitively.

“Coal is one of our Nation’s most abundant natural resources and has been providing well-paying jobs and powering the U.S. for decades,” said Dan Brouillette, secretary of Energy.

Coal FIRST will apply carbon utilization technologies to develop flexible energy plants.