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Trump Picks Rep. Ryan Zinke to Head Interior Dept
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Trump Picks Rep. Ryan Zinke to Head Interior Dept


Trump Picks Rep. Ryan Zinke to Head Interior Dept
Ryan Zinke

Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Montana) has been chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as secretary of the Interior Department, USA Today reported Thursday.

David Jackson writes Zinke is a former U.S. Navy SEAL and is in his second term in the House following his re-election in November.

Zinke “has built one of the strongest track records on championing regulatory relief, forest management, responsible energy development and public land issues,” Trump said in statement.

“I will work tirelessly to ensure our public lands are managed and preserved in a way that benefits everyone for generations to come,” Zinke said in response to his selection for the post, Jackson reports.

Zinke is a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources and an advocate of the coal industry in Montana, according to a report by Veronica Stracqualursi for ABC News.

He is one of the co-sponsors of a bill that seeks to establish the Keystone XL pipeline and is known for being critical of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, ABC News added.

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Congress Authorizes GSA to Start Alabama Federal Courthouse Construction
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Congress Authorizes GSA to Start Alabama Federal Courthouse Construction


Congress Authorizes GSA to Start Alabama Federal Courthouse ConstructionCongress has authorized the General Services Administration to start acquisition, construction and design work on a $38.2 million project to build a new federal courthouse in Alabama.

GSA said Thursday the 63,000-square-foot federal courthouse will include two courtrooms, three chambers and other court related tenants from the U.S. Marshals Services and U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The agency has narrowed down the location of the courthouse, that will accommodate three judges, to three potential sites including Block 148, Block 149 and Block 151/159.

“The authorization allows GSA to move forward on this courthouse identified by the federal judiciary as a priority in the FY16 Omnibus Spending Bill,” said Mike Goodwin, GSA Public Buildings Service Regional Commissioner for the Southeast Sunbelt region.

“This investment will help GSA support the judiciary’s mission while spurring local economic development.”

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ODNI: Intell Community to Publicly Release Findings of Election-Related Foreign Intrusion Review
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ODNI: Intell Community to Publicly Release Findings of Election-Related Foreign Intrusion Review


ODNI: Intell Community to Publicly Release Findings of Election-Related Foreign Intrusion ReviewThe Intelligence Community has begun to review foreign actions to influence U.S. presidential elections from 2008 to 2016 under an order from President Barack Obama.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Wednesday the IC will brief Congress upon completion of the study and release the findings to the public.

ODNI added senior administration officials have provided classified and unclassified briefings to Congress members and staff since the past summer and after the November election.

The agency said it will not offer comments on the issue until the review is complete.

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Air Force’s Winston Beauchamp: Commercial Satcom Services Key to Military Satcom Security
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Air Force’s Winston Beauchamp: Commercial Satcom Services Key to Military Satcom Security


Air Force's Winston Beauchamp: Commercial Satcom Services Key to Military Satcom SecurityWinston Beauchamp, U.S. Air Force deputy undersecretary for space, has said the use of commercial satellite communications services could help secure military satcom systems and end reliance on single items for support, Space News reported Tuesday.

Phillip Swarts writes Beauchamp said at a Defense One event that the military’s space-based systems should evolve from an architecture that provides services from single systems to prevent attacks from adversaries.

“Right now, if somebody wanted to deny satcom services, for example, they pretty much know what satellites our capability is being delivered from,” Beauchamp added.

Beauchamp noted the military plans to use commercial satcom services and foster interoperability on the ground to secure military satcom, Swarts reported.

He added a multi-pronged approach will make it harder for jammers to identify where satcom services are being delivered from and subsequently deny those services.

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NASA to Demo a New De-Orbit Device for Payload Return Functions in 2017
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NASA to Demo a New De-Orbit Device for Payload Return Functions in 2017


NASA to Demo a New De-Orbit Device for Payload Return Functions in 2017NASA will demonstrate a new Space Technology Mission Directorate-funded technology designed to support the potential return of science payloads to Earth from the International Space Station via deployed small spacecraft in 2017.

The space agency said Tuesday the Exo-Brake de-orbit device resembles a cross parachute designed to increase the drag and replace rocket-based systems typically used during the de-orbit phase of payload re-entry.

“Exo-Brake’s current design uses a hybrid system of mechanical struts and flexible cord with a control system that ‘warps’ the Exo-Brake,” said Marcus Murbach, principal investigator and inventor of the Exo-Brake device.

NASA noted the warp system was designed to help engineers guide a spacecraft towards a desired entry point without fuel consumption and support the accuracy of landing future payload return missions.

The Exo-Brake project will reside on the ISS in support of the Technology Education nanosatellite which will lead the Cricket Wireless Sensor Module demonstration that offers real time data to TechEdSat-5.

Exo-Brake was developed as part of the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Game Changing Development program, NASA added.

Ray Mabus Unveils New Operations Security Guidance
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Ray Mabus Unveils New Operations Security Guidance


Ray Mabus Unveils New Operations Security Guidance
Ray Mabus

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has released a new set of operations security guidelines in a move to inform the service branch community about a new computer network defense policy unveiled in May to help protect critical information.

ALNAV 072/16 serves as a supplement to the operations security policy and contains the responsibilities and accountability requirements for commanding officer, the U.S. Navy said Wednesday.

”Today we face a whole host of new threats and we are our own worst enemy,” said Lt. Cmdr. Josh Segal, a program manager for the Navy.

“We have very sophisticated adversaries who watch our every move, with the proliferation of smartphones and social media; we need to be significantly more vigilant in what we say and do,” Segal added.

The OPSEC policy contains a self-inspection tool designed to ensure the Defense Department and Navy standards are followed and that higher level commands oversee their subordinate programs.

The policy also includes a list of information the secretary considers critical across the Navy.

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Commerce Dept: NOAA Renames Weather Satellite GOES-16 After Entry Into Geostationary Orbit
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Commerce Dept: NOAA Renames Weather Satellite GOES-16 After Entry Into Geostationary Orbit


Commerce Dept: NOAA Renames Weather Satellite GOES-16 After Entry Into Geostationary OrbitThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officially named its first geostationary weather satellite GOES-16 nearly 10 days after it launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida aboard a United Launch Alliance-built Atlas V rocket on Nov. 19.

Lockheed Martin-built GOES-16, previously known as GOES-R, has started to move into its geostationary checkout orbit after the satellite fielded instruments and is scheduled to become operational within a year once it completes checkout and validation procedures, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan said GOES-16’s instruments will scan the Earth to help NOAA issue weather forecasts and warnings.

GOES-16 is designed to provide satellite imagery every 30 seconds in order to help predict thunderstorms, hurricanes and other severe weather events.

The satellite lifted off with six instrument payloads that include a lightning mapper designed to predict storms, space weather sensors and a transponder that works to detect distress signals.

GOES-16 is one of the four GOES-R series satellites that will work to provide geostationary coverage to NOAA through 2036 and will become part of the Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking system, an international satellite network that supports search-and-rescue missions.

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NASA Seeks to Double ISS Data Transfer Rates Via Updates to Space Network Ground Terminals
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NASA Seeks to Double ISS Data Transfer Rates Via Updates to Space Network Ground Terminals


NASA Seeks to Double ISS Data Transfer Rates Via Updates to Space Network Ground TerminalsNASA aims to achieve a twofold increase in the International Space Station’s data flow rates through hardware updates to the Space Network’s ground terminals.

The Space Network works to provide communications services to the ISS and uses a constellation of Tracking and Data Relay Satellites to gather data from the space station and transmit the data back to the ground terminal at White Sands test facility in New Mexico, NASA said Tuesday.

“This upgrade of both the onboard and ground data communications systems enables an increase in the scientific output from the space station,” said Mark Severance, network director of human spaceflight at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

“Increasing the data downlink rates from the station will allow the manifestation of new experiments and technology demonstrations that have higher data-rate requirements than could previously be accommodated,” Severance added.

Under the project, the space agency placed a 300 megabits per second data downlink platform at a ground terminal in Guam and will install new hardware systems at ground terminals in Guam and New Mexico to increase the data transmission rate.

The orbiting laboratory uses SN to transmit data on the space station’s systems, astronauts’ health status and science experiment results.

NASA also plans to launch the Boeing-built TDRS-M satellite in the summer of 2017 in an effort to increase SN’s network capacity.

TDRS-M will take off aboard a United Launch Alliance-made Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida and will be renamed after it completes a series of on-orbit tests within six months.

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Navy Secretary Ray Mabus Unveils 3 New Vessel Names
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Navy Secretary Ray Mabus Unveils 3 New Vessel Names


Navy Secretary Ray Mabus Unveils 3 New Vessel NamesNavy Secretary Ray Mabus has announced the names of three vessels that include the first ship of a new fleet of ballistic missile submarines, a John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oiler and a commercial-based catamaran.

The Defense Department said Wednesday the first SSBN vessel will be dubbed as USS Columbia while the John Lewis-class oiler will be named the USNS Earl Warren and the future Expeditionary Fast Transport will be called USNS Puerto Rico.

Austal USA will develop the EPF, formerly known as the Joint High Speed Vessel, that will support various missions such as disaster relief, humanitarian assistance, overseas contingency operations and special operations.

Navy added that the ballistic missile submarines will support elements of the U.S. nuclear deterrence and assurance policy, as well as carry part of the deployed U.S. nuclear warheads.

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CNAS: DoD Should Implement ‘Optionality Strategy’ to Maintain Technological Edge
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CNAS: DoD Should Implement ‘Optionality Strategy’ to Maintain Technological Edge


CNAS: DoD Should Implement ‘Optionality Strategy’ to Maintain Technological EdgeThe Center for a New American Security has said the Defense Department should adopt a new strategic approach that seeks to expand technical and military options through a diverse set of concepts and capabilities in order to maintain technological advantage.

CNAS made the recommendation in the report “Future Foundry: A New Strategic Approach to Military-Technical Advantage” published Wednesday.

The implementation of such a strategic approach, also known as “optionality strategy,” would facilitate policy and institutional reforms within DoD as well as the development of new policies that would help promote collaboration with industry partners, CNAS noted.

The optionality strategy calls for the Pentagon to establish a “diverse portfolio of capability options” through investments in technology platforms coupled with “diverse concepts of operation” as well as shift technological competition towards access to innovation and industry centers, concept developers and military chiefs.

CNAS also recommended for DoD to develop a policy that would advance partnerships with four industry segments that are responsible for the production of military systems with “constrained competition” such as submarines and aircraft carriers and military platforms with “viable competition” that include armored vehicles and combat aircraft.

The two other industry segments include those that produce military adapted commercial platforms and “purely commercial technology” that includes mobile devices and software, according to the report.

Ben FitzGerald, director of the technology and national security program at CNAS, co-wrote the report with Alexandra Sander, a research associate at CNAS’ technology and national security program; and Jacqueline Parziale, a researcher at CNAS’ technology and national security program.

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