Federal News Network

The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, and NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration are collaborating with eight American universities for the second year of the Mission Concept Program. The program provides universities with assistance in helping students gain skills focused on early satellite mission design, through mentorship and guidance from space professionals. The Space Hour host Eric White had the chance to speak with two folks who are a part of the program, Seth Sisneros is a systems engineer with AFRL's space vehicle directorate, and @Emi Colman is deputy program manager for the lab's University Nanosatellite Program.

There are a lot of regulatory boxes you need to check to get your space project underway. This can be hard for companies with smaller budgets and legal resources. To help, the firm Aegis Space Law has created a regulatory calculator tool to help commercial space companies understand which regulations apply to them. To learn more, The Space Hour host Eric White got the chance to talk to Bailey Reicheldt who is a partner at Aegis. #TheSpaceHour

Voyager Space has entered into an agreement with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center to help develop an airlock for the Mars Transit Vehicle, also referred to as Deep Space Transport. It's a 12-month study that will look at the applying the concept of Voyager's Bishop Airlock design, currently being utilized on the International Space Station, towards a future mission to Mars. To learn more, the Space Hour host Eric White spoke with Marshall Smith, Chief Technology Officer for Voyager Space. #TheSpaceHour #BishopAirlock #MarsTransitVehicle https://lnkd.in/ecFx2zA9

“It's an aggressive goal for us and something that we're working hard to get after. But we're not real close at all,” said DISA's Brian Hermann. By Anastasia Obis https://lnkd.in/eAHmPvbA #defense #disa

The Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Office has helped recover nearly $7 billion in taxes owed. Whistleblowers have been paid more than $1 billion in awards. - Read the story by Jory Heckman #IRSWhistleblowerOffice

Harrison Smith, a member of the Technology Modernization Fund board, said the streamlined proposal process has helped agencies submit more AI proposals. - Read the story by Jason Miller #TMF

Federal workforce diversity is condensed in the lower levels of the General Schedule, but fiscal 2023 data indicates a possibly different trend in the future. - Read the story by Drew Friedman #FederalWorkforce #workforcediversity

Federal employees on administrative leave can wait months — if not years — with their careers on hold, as their agencies investigate allegations of wrongdoing. - Read the story by Jory Heckman #OPM #FederalWorkers #AdministrativeLeave

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) got $5 billion to use as grant funds for new school buses under the bipartisan infrastructure bill. The challenge was how to design a funding system so school districts could take advantage of it for successfully getting that done. The EPA team members are finalists in this year's Service to America medals program. Joining the Federal Drive with Tom Temin with the details, the supervisor of the EPA's Legacy Fleet Incentives and Assessment branch. Christine Koester. #FederalDrivewithTomTemin #ElectricSchoolbuses #ServicetoAmericamedal

Debate over Social Security benefit blackouts for certain federal, state and local government employees, it never ends. A recent hearing once again considered what to do about Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Offset Pension. One observer who listened closely, the staff vice president at the NARFE: The Association for Federal Employees and Retirees, John Hatton. He gives the Federal Drive with Tom Temin an update. #FederalDrivewithTomTemin #SocialSecurity #Congress