TSP's G Fund Helps Delay Debt Ceiling
Sequester Hits Disaster Relief
Feds Respond to Oklahoma Tornadoes
Making Government 'Simpler'
OK Senator Wants Aid Offset by Budget Cuts
Boldly Go Where No Fed's Gone Before
AUTHOR ARCHIVES
U.S. plans expansion of Asia missile defenses
August 23, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
The United States is planning a major expansion of missile defenses in Asia to contain threats from North Korea and China, the Wall Street Journal reports. The buildup is envisioned as a defensive array covering large areas in Asia. A cornerstone of the effort would be the deployment of an ...
White House worked with buyout firm to save refinery, union jobs
August 22, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
The White House played a role in encouraging a private-equity firm to rescue a Philadelphia oil refinery, whose imminent closure by owner Sunoco threatened to raise gasoline prices higher before the election, the Wall Street Journal reported. Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, kick-started discussions to sell the ...
University of Florida tests tech for spotting pythons in the Everglades
August 22, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
The University of Florida is testing thermal imaging technology to hunt down Burmese pythons invading the state's Everglades, The Associated Press reports. Drones would capture the imagery, which would fill a gap between satellite and manned aircraft technology and on-the-ground observations. University researchers have found the snakes regulate temperatures of ...
NASA renews Caltech contract to oversee jet propulsion lab
August 21, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
The California Institute of Technology will manage NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for at least five more years, NBC News reports. The $8.5 billion contract to manage the agency’s lead center for unmanned planetary exploration runs through Sept. 30, 2017. Caltech will be at the helm when a NASA mission to ...
Pentagon to bolster networks and cyberattack capabilities with ‘Plan X’
August 21, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
The Pentagon is seeking technology to coordinate and bolster cyberattack capabilities through a funding experiment called “Plan X,” contract documents indicate. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency envisions new tools that will lay the foundation for launching malware and other computer espionage tools against foreign networks. “The objective of the ...
MIT scientists create penny-sized rocket thruster
August 20, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a penny-sized rocket thruster to power miniaturized space satellites, the university announced. Small satellites collecting data for space research take much longer to degrade at higher orbits, potentially causing space clutter. While traditional propulsion systems have proved too bulky to move ...
DARPA taps Northrop Grumman for advanced transceiver
August 20, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
The military’s venture capital arm awarded a $9.5 million contract to Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems to develop a transceiver that can transmit and detect signals across at least five different radio frequencies, a government contract document shows. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency wants transceiver technology that would allow users ...
Harvard researchers build squishy robots with camouflage abilities
August 17, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
Researchers have built robots that imitate the behavior of soft-bodied creatures like starfish and squid, and can blend in or stand out in their environment, the New York Times reports. The Harvard University research team published its work in the current issue of the journal Science. The soft robots are ...
NIST seeks vulnerability analysis for military Android apps
August 17, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking vulnerability analysis and security scanning for the Pentagon’s Android software applications, according to a solicitation posted Thursday. The tools will be used to audit intelligence and imagery applications used by ground troops on tablets and handheld devices in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...
Developer of experimental batteries raises In-Q-Tel funding
August 16, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
Imprint Energy, which develops experimental battery technology, received funding from CIA venture capital wing In-Q-Tel, the company announced. The company is designing ultrathin, high-energy density zinc-based batteries as an alternative to traditional lithium battery technology. The new batteries could power mini-drones, robots, radios and other small devices deployed on the ...
