NASA has granted an emergency exemption for a University of Colorado program to examine Mars’ atmosphere to avoid delaying the project until 2016, according to a report by the Daily Camera. The $485 million Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft will launch between Nov. 18 and Dec. 7 because the Earth and Mars are inRead… Read more »
The General Services Administration could reduce the scope of or terminate some existing contracts with the Public Building Service as a result of the government shutdown. Jennifer Smith, PBS acting deputy assistant commissioner for acquisition management, told industry partners in an Oct. 2 letter the lack of a fiscal year 2014 budget has caused aRead… Read more »
The Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Navy sailors test-fired a Standard Missile-3 in the Pacific Ocean Thursday with an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense 4.0. system An SM-3 missile launched from the USS Lake Erie to intercept a target fired from a Kauai, Hawaii-based facility, the Defense Department said Friday. Flight testing startedRead… Read more »
The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union has asked Congress to set aside partisanship and end the deadlock on the federal budget, warning that the country’s aviation system is at risk the longer the resulting work stoppage continues. The shutdown Tuesday has seen 15,000 sidelined employees from the Federal Aviation Administration, more than 4,000 of whichRead… Read more »
The Technical Applications Contracting Office at Fort Eustis, Va. has selected three defense contractors to develop synthetic-vision helicopter avionics that work in dusty conditions for Special Operations Command, Military Aerospace & Electronics reported Thursday. John Keller writes SOCOM officials have allocated between three and five years of technology demonstrations for the Degraded Visual Environment PilotageRead… Read more »
The U.S. government shutdown could interrupt some of the country’s services such as disease detection and prevention, healthcare, food safety, emergency response and compliance activities, according to a report by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. Lisa Schnirring and Robert Roos write public health and food safety agencies have warnedRead… Read more »
Fairfax, Va.-based Zimmerman Associates has won a subcontract to help manage the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s information library. Cadence Group Associates is the prime contractor for the program, ZAI said. “This win allows us to continue with the specialized library support we have been providing to NASA GSFC since 2001,” said ZAI Chief InformationRead… Read more »
NASA is looking for partners in the commercial sector that can help the space agency research and develop technology to support its long-range missions. Mayur Ahuja, deputy director of engineering at Jacobs Engineering Group, will speak on behalf of NASA at an upcoming two-day forum to discuss the agency’s future projects, trade show organizer UBMRead… Read more »
National Intelligence Director James Clapper told the Senate Judiciary Committee his fears of how the government shutdown could affect the intelligence community and national security, Reuters reported Wednesday. “The damage will be insidious, so each day that goes by the jeopardy increases,” he said. Clapper told the panel 70 percent of civilian intelligence workers areRead… Read more »
A CH2M Hill subsidiary has been awarded a $6.4 million project by the U.S. Navy to restore a building at the Naval Sea Systems Command’s headquarters in Washington following the Sept. 16 Navy Yard shooting. CH2M Hill Constructors will also assess damages and develop alternative concept designs under the firm-fixed-price contract, the Navy said Monday.Read… Read more »