“In October of last year the Russian Ministry of Defense deployed a space object they claimed was a ‘space apparatus inspector.’ But its behavior on-orbit was inconsistent with anything seen before from on-orbit inspection or space situational awareness capabilities, including other Russian inspection satellite activities,” said Yleem Poblete. the State Department’s assistant secretary of state for arms control, verification and compliance. “We don’t know for certain what it is and there is no way to verify it. But Russian intentions with respect to this satellite are unclear and are obviously a very troubling development—particularly, when considered in concert with statements by Russia’s Space Force Commander.”

Poblete’s comments were part of an address made at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland. The address comes less than a week after the Pentagon announced it would establish a Space Force as a sixth military branch. The Department of Defense released a report Aug. 9 outlining the need for and potential organizational structure of a Space Force. In particular, U.S. officials are worried about advances from China and Russia.

“Although U.S. space systems have historically maintained a technological advantage over those of potential adversaries, those potential adversaries are now actively developing way to deny our use of space in a crisis,” the report said.

Poblete used the address to highlight the potential threat of Russian space weapons such as anti-satellite weapons or missiles designed to destroy satellites.

“The Russian Ministry of Defense recently announced that its Space Troops have received a mobile laser system which Vladimir Putin announced to the world on March 1 of this year. Russia’s leader himself alluded to space weapons being ‘more acceptable in the political and military respect’,” Poblete said.

She said the purpose of the satellite detected in October remains unclear but that U.S. officials find the development especially concerning after Russia’s Space Force Commanded highlighted the importance of assimilating new weapons prototypes into its Space Force.

Poblete said Russian Ministry of Defense stated in a press release the satellites were “simply inspector satellites.”

While she did not mention the satellite by name, observers have speculated the satellite may be one of a series of Russian satellites launched June 23, 2017. In August 23, 2017, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued a press release that said “Today, a small-sized spacecraft has separated from the space platform in order to inspect condition of the Russian satellite.”

A scientific experiment aimed to assess condition of the satellite according to its internal appearance is to be held in future

In April, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a Space Threat Assessment report that identified Russia’s space force and anti-satellite technology as one of the significant threats to the United States.

The report pointed to the Soviet Union’s history of developing and operating anti-satellite weapons and the use of rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO), which involves moving a satellite to a target to damage or destroy it, as part of Russia’s advantage as it continues to develop space technology.

Similarly, a report from the Secure World Foundation, also from April, found that Russia is investing heavily in Rendezvous and Proximity Operations, or RPO – the ability to have a system in space maneuver around and interact with another nation’s satellites. However, that report noted there is “no proof” these are disruptive capabilities as opposed to intelligence gathering investments

A what?

On June 22, leaders from the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, the Aerospace Corporation and Lockheed Martin Space Systems autographed the thermal space blanket that will travel inside a satellite.

The thermal space blanket will be wrapped around part of the Air Force’s Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF)-4 satellite as a way to help regulate temperature and prevent rapid temperature change. Thermal blankets, like the one that will travel with AEHF-4, were initially developed by NASA in 1964 and are highly reflective. They are also regularly found in emergency kits or used by long-distance runners to prevent rapid temperature change.

Signing the thermal blanket continued a tradition from previous AEHF satellites and the legacy Milstar satellite program, which preceded the AEHF program.

The AEHF program consists of six satellites that provide communications for high-priority military ground, sea and air assets. Most recently, AEHF-3 launched in 2013 and the first satellite in the program, AEHF-1 launched in 2010.

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This will be the first position Rogers has taken since his retirement from a 37-year military career.

CyberCube is a San Francisco based software company that focuses on cyber risk analytics for the insurance industry. The company was established in 2015 as part of Symantec, another cyber security company, but is now independent.

“The insurance industry has an increasingly important role to play in making companies more resilient to cyber attacks,” Rogers said in press release from CyberCube.

Rogers served as NSA director from 2014 to 2018.

The task order is for the Army Contracting Command’s Deployable Adaptive Global Responder Support (DAGRS) contract vehicle, which is worth as much as $480 million over five years. Envistacom is one 10 companies eligible to compete for task orders.

“I am confident that together with the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, our team will deliver an effective blend of strategy and technology to our warfighters and mission partners, and ultimately, help make the world a safer place,” said Alan Carson, senior vice president at Envistacom.

Based in Atlanta, Envistacom focuses on providing counterterrorism, cyber and communications technology to the Department of Defense and other customers in the aerospace, defense and intelligence communities.

In August 2017, Army Contracting Command Aberdeen Proving Ground awarded Envistacom a $10 million five-year contract to provide communications and operations support to the Army.

He will replace DISA’s previous chief of staff, Col. Joel Lindeman. DISA oversees the operation of DoD networks and IT, as well as significant parts of federal communications, mobility, satellite communications and cloud services.

Most recently, Barnhart served as commander of the 844th communications group and director of communications for the Air Force District of Washington, Joint Base Andrews. As chief of staff, Barnhart will manage DISA’s 8,000 member organization and $12 billion budget.

In a statement, Barnhart said he will focus on building trust with DISA’s mission partners and ensuring the agency meets its commitments.

“I will always have an open door,” he said. “But please also come armed with ideas on how we can improve our customer relationship with our mission partners. There is always more to be done in this area, and my goal, just like the director’s, is to make DISA the trusted information technology and cyber provider to connect and protect the war fighter in cyberspace.”

The laser communication system transmitted data at a rate of 100 megabits per second on two CubeSat satellites used for the Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration mission.

The mission, which is funded and managed by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate Small Spacecraft Technology Program, focuses on developing high-speed optical data transmission and small proximity operations, which will be valuable to future small spacecraft missions.

“Space-to-ground optical communications from a free-flying CubeSat has never been done before, and we’re excited to be involved in this demonstration,” Todd Rose, the OCSD optical communications lead, said in an Aerospace Corporation news release.

The Aerospace Corporation is a nonprofit that operates a federally funded research and development center for the Air Force and focuses on national security space programs.

The two CubeSats used in the communication demonstration were the AeroCube-7B and AeroCube-7C, launched in November 2017 as secondary payloads on a resupply mission to the International Space Station.

Although laser communications systems have already been used on large commercial satellite systems, the announcement is one of the first steps toward using laser communications on small platforms like CubeSats.

“This is a significant achievement, given that high-speed laser communications is mostly done from larger satellite systems,” said Steve Isakowitz, the CEO of Aerospace Corporation.

Aerospace Corporation also announced that it had completed a proximity demonstration where OCSD satellites were brought within 20 feet of each other, which addresses the second component of the OCSD mission.

The satellites in the demonstration were able to use onboard GPS receivers to determine their locations in relation to each other. Aerospace Corporation said that inexpensive cameras, beacons and laser rangefinders will be used in future proximity demonstrations.

“MUOS’ acceptance for operational use is an important milestone for the Navy, and it’s one step closer for significant communications improvements for all our forces,” Rear Adm. Carl Chebi, the Navy’s program executive officer for space systems, said in the release.

The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), built by Lockheed Martin, is a five-satellite constellation, which includes four operational satellites and an on-orbit spare, that works with ground relays to operate like a global military cellular network. The first satellite launched in 2012.

The system can transmit voice, video and mission data on an Internet Protocol based system that can connect to military networks. Users can connect to Department of Defense communications networks such as the Global Information Grid and Defense Switched Network.

The Marine Corps, which has invested heavily in MUOS-portable radios will be the first service to widely deploy MUOS capabiltiies. Initial fielding will begin this fall and is expected to be declared fully operational by summer 2019.

MUOS satellites are designed with dual-capability, which allows DoD to maintain communications on the legacy Ultra High Frequency satellite system while the advanced MUOS Wideband Code Division Multiple Access waveform came online.

WCDMA capability has been demonstrated in environments with submarine antennas and Air Force C-17 in-flight tests.

After the MUOS launch in 2012, WCDMA capability began what’s known as restricted operations in July 2016 so early adopters could gain experience using the system.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report July 30 reviewing the Department of Defense’s use of commercial satellites to host communications packages and sensors. Since 2009, DOD has used three commercial satellites to host communications technology and sensors. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also have used or plan to use commercial host satellites.

According to the GAO report, the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center’s Hosted Payload Office (HPO) reported nearly $300 million in savings by using a commercial host satellite. The Air Force reported commercial host satellites saved $230 million for its Responsive Environmental Assessment Commercially Hosted (REACH) effort. That program calls for 32 sensors payloads hosted on Iridium NEXT satellites to monitor space radiation levels.

The Air Force established the Hosted Payload Office in 2014 to provide contract vehicles for DOD and civil agencies to access commercially hosted payload options.

Using this approach also shortens timelines for launching payloads into space, the GAO report said. The agency also found that using commercial host satellites increased the number and diversity of potential targets, which makes it more difficult for an adversary to decide what to attack.

However, the report recommended that DOD require program to share information to a central location to mitigate the problem of fragmented knowledge and increase department-wide understanding.

“DOD would benefit from leveraging the knowledge and information gained from each hosted payload experience,” the report said.

In addition to the three satellites used since 2009, DOD plans to use another three through 2022.

Pentagon officials have repeatedly said artificial intelligence is a critical technology to staying ahead of potential adversaries. Earlier this month, the Defense Department reorganized its leadership structure to put a greater emphasis on emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence. In addition, the Pentagon said it plans to spend $1.7 billion over the next five years to stand up a new Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, according to new budgeting figures.

Most recently, in an agreement between Congressional negotiators released July 23, lawmakers called for the Pentagon to establish a new commission to review advances in AI technology, a 15-member body that would meet regularly until October 2020. Members will be appointed by the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Commerce and members of congressional defense committees.

The commission will focus on AI, machine learning and associated technology with respect to national security and defense. It is expected to review the competitiveness of U.S. technology and foreign advances in AI, potential workforce and education incentives to attract and recruit talent for AI and machine learning technology jobs and research ways to foster emphasis and investments in research to stimulate the development of AI technology.

The commission is tasked with presenting an initial report to the President and Congress within 180 days of the passage of the bill. It is also expected to produce annual comprehensive reports on the same topics, which will be publicly available.

In addition to the new commission, the NDAA bill establishes other changes to address AI, machine learning and quantum science technology. They include:

A designated official to coordinate AI and machine learning technology development

The bill instructs the Secretary of Defense to designate an official who will be responsible for “developing a strategic plan to develop, adopt and transition artificial intelligence technologies into operational use.”

This version encourages the official to partner with industry, academia and private industries, and use the “flexibility of regulations and acquisition,” to develop and field AI and machine learning technology for the Department of Defense.

Reports submitted by the Secretary of Defense about US competitiveness in emerging technologies

The bill also requires that the Secretary of Defense and Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency submit classified reports that compare the capabilities of the United States and its adversaries in emerging technology areas.

The reports are expected to evaluate hypersonic, AI, quantum information science and directed energy weapons technologies.

The NDAA bill says that reports should include evaluations of spending, quantity, quality, test infrastructure, work force and the willingness of adversaries to use technology.

Improving the Air Force supply chain

The NDAA bill allows the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics to use funds for “non-traditional technologies and sustainment practices [which includes artificial intelligence] to increase the availability of aircraft to the Air Force and decrease backlogs and lead times for the production of parts.”

The assistant secretary is able to use up to $42.8 million for research, development, test and evaluation.

The auto-tracking antenna system is an easily collapsible ground-to-air antenna that operates on the Wave Relay mobile ad hoc network (MANET), which Persistent Systems manufactures, a news release said.

Persistent Systems hopes the antenna could be used in Special Operations Command’s Mid-Endurance Unmanned Aircraft Systems III program.

The 5-foot parabolic dish is designed to be deployed within 15 minutes and can track and rotate to follow MANET-connected technology in the air, expanding the network bubble. Persistent Systems predicts this will reduce costs by decreasing dependence on satellite communications.

The antenna will be able to act like a locally controlled low-Earth satellite for a lower cost, a company source explained.

The IP67-rated antenna system, designed for any weather environment, has interchangeable S-Band, L-Band and C-Band MIMO feeds and supports high data rates, video and voice communications up to 130 miles, yet can be stored compactly and fit into a standard-sized SUV, according to the Persistent Systems press release.

The auto-tracking antenna system is expected to improve full-motion video and sensor data transmission from drones and is automatically calibrated to reduce user error.

The antenna could be used to improve communications for customers such as the Army, Navy or foreign customers a company official said.