NASA is preparing for two missions to support research into heliophysics or how the sun impacts planetary phenomena. The agency said Friday that the first initiative, known as the “Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere” mission, will use real-time imaging technology and small satellites to study the generation of solar winds by the sun’s corona or outer atmosphere.

The second mission, known as “Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites”, will receive up to $115 million in funding and serve as a secondary payload for the PUNCH mission. NASA intends TRACERS to be a rideshare mission focusing on the assessment of the Earth’s magnetic fields at its northern cusp encircling the polar region. The mission will help researchers analyze the magnetic fields’ interaction with the sun to develop ways of improving the protection of astronauts and space instruments.

Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, noted that the small platforms complement NASA’s other heliophysics spacecraft and enable the agency to “get more research for the price of a single launch.”

NASA plans to launch both missions by August 2022.

The Department of Homeland Security is set to transfer ownership of the science and technology directorate’s National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility to the Department of Agriculture. As part of an agreement, USDA will manage operations and planning functions, while DHS will complete construction efforts for the facility, USDA said Thursday.

The Manhattan, Kan.- based facility will replace the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York and is set to function as a biosafety level-4 laboratory.

“NBAF will be the first facility in the United States with maximum biocontainment, BSL-4 labs, where we can develop vaccines and diagnostics for high-consequence animal diseases – including those that can also affect human health,” said Greg Ibach, undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs at USDA.

The House passed a bipartisan bill to optimize the security of internet-connected devices. Authored by Sens. Mark Warner and Cory Gardner, the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2019 will require all government-owned devices to meet security standards, the office of Mark Warner said Wednesday. 

The legislation will also task the Office of Management and Budget and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish requirements for IoT tools. The bill is now up for Senate approval.

“As these devices continue to transform our society and add countless new entry points into our networks, we need to make sure they are secure, particularly when they are integrated into the federal government’s networks,” said Gardner.

Matthew Donovan, acting secretary of the U.S. Air Force, said during an interview during the Paris Air Show that he has “always supported the necessity of an independent Space Force,” Defense News reported Friday.

Donovan wrote papers on the benefits of a Space Force over two decades ago and supported the establishment of the Space Development Agency. He added that the development of an integrated satellite communication network is “absolutely foundational” for the creation of advanced battle management and multi-domain command and control systems.

The House Armed Services Committee approved the establishment of a “Space Corps” in lieu of a Space Force within the Air Force last week. Donovan was named interim Air Force secretary in May, succeeding 2019 Wash100 winner Heather Wilson, who announced her intent to resign in March.