NASA News 
Top News
- Senators push Tangherlini for assurances GSA is improving
- Contractors with security clearances lack path to report problems
- Lawmakers skeptical of proposed cost-saving commission's future
- Furlough song: Laugh or you'll cry
- Navy strikes enterprise licensing deal with Oracle
- 8 contract executives guilty of 8(a) contracting fraud
- Whistleblower suit leads to $12M false claims settlement by SAIC
- 29-year-old NASA engineer going where no one has gone before
- USPS reaches energy reduction goal ahead of schedule
- NOAA meteorologist helps save lives one storm at a time
- NASA picks 8 new astronauts, 4 of them women
- House passes sweeping $638 billion defense bill
- NIH tops list of best companies for baby boomers
- Latest postal reform proposal OKs 5-day delivery
- IRS official contradicts claims about reviews
- House presses VA for more details after cyber attacks
- DoD maintains BRAC fight, despite opposition
Highest ranked agencies distinguished by strong leadership
NASA, the Surface Transportation Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation share a common trait that led them to the top ranking for their size class in the Partnership for Public Service's seventh annual Best Places to Work survey. Transportation, OMB and the National Credit Union Administration earn the most improved status by implementing the best practices of the leading agencies.
USDA laying the groundwork for BYOD
Deputy CIO Charles McClam said the Department of Agriculture is developing a policy and has awarded a mobile device management contract to figure out how best to let employees use their own smartphones and tablet devices on the agency's computer network. NASA Goddard also is creating a BYOD policy that depends on its virtual desktop infrastructure.
Elasticity and the cloud
Mark Ryland, chief solutions architect with Amazon Web Services joins host John Gilroy to talk about how his company can help your agency transition to the cloud.
November 6, 2012
Judge backs NASA lab in work discrimination case
A California judge has tentatively ruled in favor of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by a former computer specialist who alleged he was singled out in part because of his belief in intelligent design.
UK blocks extradition of alleged hacker to US
Home Secretary Theresa May said she had blocked the U.S. request to extradite Gary McKinnon after medical experts concluded he was seriously depressed and that there was "a high risk of him ending his life."
Big data gauntlet thrown down for agencies
Three agencies launched the Big Data Challenge Wednesday asking for ideas to bring together disparate data sets that help agencies meet their missions better. The contest is part of the administration's national big data development effort. The TechAmerica Foundation also released a new report to help agencies understand and use information more effectively.
NASA fills top job at Marshall Space Flight Center
NASA announced several leadership changes including two promotions among its top administrators this week.
How NASA's Curiosity rover got 1.1M Twitter followers
The Mars rover Curiosity is breaking barriers both in space and the Twittersphere. Curiosity now has more than 1.1 million followers on the social media site. A NASA social media manager shares best practices for maintaining a Twitter account.
US trade office bows to WTO ruling on Boeing
The United States Trade Office says the U.S. government has responded to and complied with a World Trade Organization ruling that found the U.S. had provided illegal subsidies to Boeing Co.
Reducing high-risk contracts yields mixed results
Agencies failed to meet a lofty goal to cut spending on new contracts considered high-risk by 10 percent. But despite the inconclusive results, contracting experts and agency procurement chiefs told Federal News Radio there's more to evaluating the effort to reduce high-risk contracts than the failure to reach the goal. Federal News Radio examines this as part of the special report, The Obama Impact: Evaluating the Last Four Years.
6-month spending bill clears Senate hurdle
A spending bill required to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month has cleared a procedural hurdle in the Senate.
Proposal would alter cybersecurity requirements for contractors
A proposed rule would make contractors responsible for securing networks that store any type of government information. It defines key terms like information and "information system."
NASA, Alaska officials see new uses for airships
Lighter-than-air aircraft advocates say a California company's Zepplin airship may one day be a common sight, delivering fuel or construction material to remote Alaska villages or food to hungry people on another continent.
NASA reveals how it revived a struggling program
The space agency gave Federal News Radio an exclusive, in-depth look at a recent IT review session on its enterprise service desk. With the program faltering, NASA detailed how it used TechStat to reinforce planned solutions.
The Ryan budget, sequestration, and mobile apps
On this week's Capital Impact show, guests discuss how the Paul Ryan budget plan would affect federal spending, how NASA would be affected by sequestration, and two new mobile apps for this year's Democratic and Republican conventions.
August 16, 2012
NASA's new stars make geeky seem chic
Known to the Twitterverse and the president of the United States as "Mohawk Guy" of the Mars mission, Bobak Ferdowsi could be the changing public face of NASA and all of geekdom.
Sammies finalists build a space-bot to aid astronauts
Fifteen years ago, NASA began their Robonaut project to create the first humanoid robot that would be capable of working in space. Despite various funding problems, the resulting humanoid machine is currently on the International Space Station helping crew members by taking over simple, repetitive or dangerous tasks now performed by astronauts.
NASA picks 3 private firms to develop space taxis
NASA picked three aerospace companies Friday to build small rocketships to take astronauts to the International Space Station, as part of the third phase of NASA's efforts to get private space companies to take over for the space shuttle.
Navy sharpens acquisition pencil to find savings
The service is taking a four-pronged approach to improve its procurement process and find savings. A review board looks at all acquisitions to make sure its strategy and contract formation are beneficial. Other agencies, like NASA and DHS, are consolidating more contracts into larger buys.
NASA builds menu for planned Mars mission in 2030s
Through a labyrinth of hallways deep inside a 1960s-era building that has housed research that dates back to the early years of U.S. space travel, a group of scientists in white coats is stirring, mixing, measuring, brushing and, most important, tasting the end result of their cooking.
