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March 2, 2020 By cs

U.S. Space Force chief tours Tech

A daylong tour of Georgia Tech on Feb. 24 introduced General John Raymond to some “next-gen thinking” that he might find helpful in his latest assignment.
General John Raymond told Georgia Tech students and faculty that there is a great need for not only technical innovation, but also breakthroughs in space policy. 

The recently named chief of Space Operations for the United States Space Force spent the day talking space exploration and space policy with faculty, researchers, and students from the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs; the Center for International Strategy, Technology, and Policy; and the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering.

He capped off the day with a lecture, “Space as a Warfighting Domain,” delivered before a packed audience in the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design.

“There is nothing we do in the Joint Forces that isn’t related to space,” he told listeners before giving a brief history of the military’s space engagement. “Our adversaries have been watching what we do in space, wanting to disrupt us, and our job is to make sure that never happens.”

Raymond ended by encouraging the next generation of innovators in the audience to study hard and work even harder. The Space Force may be in their future. After all, when he was in college, Raymond said, he didn’t touch a computer until his junior or senior year.

“It’s an exciting time to be in this business. I wish I could change places with you. Don’t be bashful. You have a skill set that, when you graduate and are hired, whatever you do, you can help this country.”

Space as a Laboratory: The Daniel Guggenheim School

Raymond’s visit to the Guggenheim School introduced him to research on a broad array of projects – from optimized space mission operations to space situational awareness and alternatives to GPS navigation.

“The AE School has a strong, historical relationship with the military,” said William R.T. Oakes School Chair Mark Costello. “We are thrilled to welcome General Raymond to campus and are excited about digging into the challenges that the Space Force will put before us.”

Much of Costello’s conversation with Raymond revolved around CubeSats – the miniaturized satellites that are now routinely launched into space via traditional two-stage rockets.

By October of 2020, the AE School will have launched seven student-built CubeSats, each with unique scientific and technological missions. One of them, ORCA, will be launched in March to calibrate ground-based orbital and positioning equipment from space. Students in the Space Systems Design Lab (SSDL) designed it in just six weeks, after a launch spot was unexpectedly offered to them last November.

“They spent pretty much every waking moment during winter break working on it,” said Professor Brian Gunter.

“The great thing about our lab is that our undergraduate researchers are primary participants in these launches – designing the vehicles, building the circuit boards, 3D-printing the thrusters. They learn to take an idea from the beginning and follow it through with all of the complexities that unfold.”

Throughout his lab tour, Raymond was noticeably engaged in each presentation, stopping speakers to mine them for additional technical details. Prof. E. Glenn Lightsey, the SSDL director, applauded his keen interest in the field and in the future.

“We want space to become an active, vibrant environment, but as that happens, we will need to think about how to protect our assets in space. And we will also need to think about how to regulate safety; right now, there are no rules about how to fly. The Space Force can transform the way we see both of these things.”

Keeping Pace with the Need for Policy Innovation: The Sam Nunn School

Raymond later visited with students and faculty from the Nunn School for policy-oriented discussions that ran the gamut — from the complexities of creating the unique warfighting culture of a new service branch to what constitutes unacceptable aggression in space.

Raymond said the need is great for not only technical innovation, but also breakthroughs in space policy, an area he said currently resembles the “Wild Wild West.”

He told students that enormous opportunities are waiting for people like them in the space sector, whether it be military, civilian, or government spaceflight programs.

“When you graduate from here, know that you’re good enough to do whatever you want to do,” he said.

Mariel Borowitz, an assistant professor of space policy in the Nunn School, helped organize the visit and said she hopes it will lead to relationships that can help Georgia Tech play a role in the success of the Space Force.

Among other initiatives, the Nunn School and the Guggenheim School are partnering to develop a joint graduate certificate program in international security and aerospace systems. The Nunn School also is a participant in the Center for Space Technology and Research.

“The Space Force is going to need people who understand the strategic implications of operating in a contested space environment, and this is the type of issue that Nunn School faculty and students are well equipped to do,” she said.

Source: https://www.news.gatech.edu/2020/02/25/us-space-force-chief-tours-tech

Filed Under: Georgia Tech News Tagged With: aerospace, Georgia Tech, innovation, Space Force, space policy, space technology, technology research

June 5, 2019 By AMK

A Pentagon contractor’s 9,400% profit on a half-inch metal pin is challenged

As the Pentagon weighs whether to recommend legislation to require more disclosure by contractors, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform will review the audit and TransDigm’s pricing policies in a hearing on Wednesday.

The inspector general’s report “exposes how a company entrusted with supporting our military men and women took advantage of American taxpayers by overcharging the government more than $16 million” in parts sales sold between 2015 and 2017, Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings said in a statement. The hearing will “investigate whether these pricing issues are more widespread, and demand answers,” he said.

From 2013 through 2015, according to the audit, the contractor increased the price of a valve that opens and closes to change the pressure of fuel moving through an engine to $9,801 from $543. In those years, TransDigm also charged $1,443 each for a “non-vehicular clutch disk” that cost $32 to make.

Planes, Copters

The Pentagon’s inspector general first raised pricing concerns over TransDigm in a 2006 report, followed by the one this year that was released in redacted form in February.

TransDigm manufactures spare parts for airplanes and helicopters including the AH-64 Apache, C-17 Globemaster III, F-16 Fighting Falcon and the CH-47 Chinook. From April 2012 through January 2017, DOD issued 4,942 contracts valued at $471 million to TransDigm.

Liza Sabol, a spokeswoman for the Cleveland-based company, said in an email “that we are not providing comments on specific questions related to the IG report.”

Keep reading article at: http://amp.timeinc.net/fortune/2019/05/14/transdigm-pentagon-costs

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition regulation, aerospace, audit, contracting officers, defense contracts, Defense Logistics Agency, Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act, House Committee, investigation, legislation, military, oversight, parts contracts, Pentagon, policy bills, pricing, reform, taxpayers, TransDigm, watchdog

July 27, 2015 By AMK

Aerospace opportunity conference to be held in Savannah on Sept. 15

Industry, government, and academia are collaborating to host a Supplier Opportunities and Aerospace Resources (SOAR) Conference on September 15, 2015 in Savannah, Georgia.

aerospaceDuring this aerospace industry supplier event, businesses will be able to:

  • Connect with other suppliers, to major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and to resources available to manufacturers in Georgia.
  • Promote company capabilities to OEMs.
  • Attend informative workshops to build skills and become more competitive.

Speakers and presenters include representatives from Gulfstream Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, the Georgia Department of Economic Development, and Georgia Tech.

Breakout workshops will be held on a variety of topics as well as a uniquely-designed match-making event for aerospace suppliers to connect to OEMs through one-on-one networking sessions.

Conference Details:
  • Date: September 15 (Registration ends Sept. 8)
  • Time: 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Check-in at 8:00 a.m.)
  • Location: Coastal Georgia Center, Georgia Southern University, 305 Fahm St, Savannah, GA 31401
  • Price: $40 (lunch included)
  • Registration: http://bit.ly/1Pmy4OH

Sponsors of the event include the Georgia Center of Innovation for Aerospace, the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) at Georgia Tech, the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA), the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC), the Georgia Small Business Development Center (GaSBDC), the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), and Georgia Power.

Filed Under: Georgia Tech News Tagged With: aerospace, industry, OEM

December 26, 2013 By AMK

Budget deal could cause mergers and acquisitions in Defense sector

A U.S. budget agreement making its way through Congress could set off the most robust series of mergers and acquisitions in the aerospace and defense sectors in years, industry leaders and experts say.

The two-year agreement  is expected to reassure contractors on government spending and unleash pent-up demand for deals, according to analysts.

The budget deal will halve the $52 billion in automatic spending cuts facing the Pentagon in fiscal 2014 and would lower mandatory reductions in projected spending in 2015.

“It gives our customers in the U.S. government further certainty for their budget decisions,” Marillyn Hewson, chief executive of Lockheed Martin Corp, said in an interview with Reuters.

“It does give us more certainty and helps us in our planning process,” she said, noting that the company is always looking for acquisitions to tap new markets or round out existing business areas.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/12/17/business/17reuters-aerospace-mergers-analysis.html?hp&_r=2&&pagewanted=all

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisitions, aerospace, budget, defense contractors, DoD, industrial base, M&A, mergers

January 15, 2013 By AMK

NASA engineer, defense contractor knowingly bought illicit software from Chinese conspirator

Chinese resident Xiang Li has pleaded guilty to copyright infringement and wire fraud charges connected to a bootleg software conspiracy that involved federal sector accomplices, U.S. authorities are expected to announce today in Wilmington, Del.

A NASA engineer and government contractor knowingly bought some of the $100 million worth of critical computer programs that Li copied from mainly American companies, according to court papers and officials.

Between April 2008 and June 2011, Li peddled ill-gotten software through the Web to colluding customers, including the U.S. public sector employees, according to court documents filed on Jan. 4. Software that retails for as much as $3 million sold for between $20 and $1,200 on the Internet shopping sites he maintained. The pirated software has uses for, among other things, defense, space exploration and explosive simulation.

See undercover videos of sting operation (courtesy Defense Video & Imagry Distribution System):

1. Avoiding Problems with Customs

2. Interacting with Customs

3. Ignoring victim company requests to cease & desist

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2013/01/nasa-engineer-defense-contractor-knowingly-bought-illicit-software-chinese-conspirator/60525/.

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: aerospace, counterfeit, economic espionage, fraud, ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, NASA, pirated products, software, telecommications

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