Federal Drive

Federal Drive interviews – July 12

NASA astronaut Don Pettit is just back from space and has an update on the International Space Station. Plus, Tiffany Smith of the State Department's Office of ...

Federal News Network Staff

July 12, 2012 9:21 am

2 min read

Don Pettit — Astronaut, NASA

Astronaut Don Pettit returned to Earth last week, after more than six months in orbit at the International Space Station. That was his third mission to space. All told, he’s spent more than a year in zero gravity. During this last mission, Pettit performed more than 200 experiments for public and private interest. He also saw the arrival of Space-X Dragon — the world’s first commercial cargo space craft.

Pettit videotaped physics demos while in space…including this one:

Follow Pettit on Twitter at @Astro_Pettit.

Mike Fischetti — Executive Director, National Contract Management Association

The drumbeats about sequestration grow louder every day in Washington. Administration officials are warning about it. Members of Congress are working to avoid it. Contractors and contracting officers alike are also worried about the effects of sudden, across the board federal spending cuts. Fischetti is the former Director of Acquisition Management and Support for TRICARE at the Defense Department.

Jay Crowley — Senior Advisor for Patient Safety, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, FDA

The Food and Drug Administration wants every medical device to have a unique ID. The agency says that could help it spot problems more quickly target recalls and improve patient safety.

Tiffany Smith — Deputy Division Chief for Knowledge Leadership in Office of eDiplomacy, State Department

Today the State Department’s Office of e-Diplomacy kicks off its next Tech-at-State Conference. This one is called Wiki.Gov, and it tackles how agencies can use wikis to communicate better with one another and with the public. Smith had a preview of the kick-off event.

Read about State’s Diplopedia wiki.