Rapiscan Review. Following the TSA’s cancellation in early December of a $67 million contract for checkpoint X-Ray systems that it had awarded Rapiscan Systems just over two months earlier, the Department of Homeland Security appears to reviewing the matter for potential suspension of the company from federal contracting. The matter is being reviewed within DHS but department and TSA officials declined to say whether the agency had recommended disbarment for Rapiscan. TSA canceled the contract after the company reported that its submission for the Advanced Technology-2 X-Ray contract included a Chinese-made component that hadn’t been approved by the agency. DHS last year considered Rapiscan for potential disbarment related to changes the company had made during testing of automated target recognition software on its body imaging systems but ultimately decided against suspending the company.
DHS HQ Delays.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) increases its cost estimates for completion of its headquarters construction project and delays the final completion date by 10 years, Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency, says Friday. The new cost estimate is $4.5 billion and the completion date 2026, says Duncan, citing DHS data provided last summer. Duncan released a report by the majority staff that questions whether the consolidated headquarters project should be scaled back given the current constrained fiscal environment. It also suggests taking advantage of existing legal authorities that allow non-traditional financing methods such as arranging for a private developer to foot the renovation costs and have the federal government pay rent to pay back the developer over time.
See the Heat. FLIR Systems this week launches a consumer-oriented thermal imaging system, FLIR ONE, aimed at bringing the benefits of thermal imaging to a mass market for everything from personal security and safety to home damage and nighttime wildlife observation. The device comes in the form of a smartphone accessory case for use with 
Apple’s iPhone 5 or 5s and uses the company’s new Lepton camera core to display heat on the phone screen. “FLIR ONE represents a dramatic step in our pursuit of ‘infrared everywhere,’” states Andy Teich, president and CEO of FLIR.
SNA Time. The Surface Navy Association’s three-day annual symposium kicks off Tuesday just outside Washington and features a speaking lineup of the Navy’s senior leadership and more than a hundred exhibitors. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert are among the speakers on the first day at the event held at the Hyatt Regency in the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, Va. Other speakers include Rear Adm. Thomas Rowden, the director of surface warfare; Adm. William Gortney, the commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Vice Adm. Tom Copeman, the commander of naval surface forces and surfaces forces for the Pacific Fleet. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) will hold separate sessions at its exhibit booth that include updates on the Arleigh Burke-class (DDG-51) and Zumwalt-class (DDG-1000) destroyer programs, as well as for the mission packages for the Littoral Combat Ship.
So Long Sherpa. The Army National Guard retires the fixed-wing C-23 Sherpa aircraft, which has been in service since the early 1990s. Army Maj. Matthew Moore, chief of future operations with the Operational Support Airlift Agency, or OSAA, says the aircraft was widely used to support parachute-drop training missions for all Army components of the Army and special operations organizations. “The C-23 provided limited rear support during the Persian Gulf War,” Moore says in a recent National Guard Bureau story. “However, it saw continued action from 2003 through 2011 in Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn, often moving half-a-million pounds of cargo a month.”
More Support. Serco Inc. says a close to $100 million contract extension from Public Works and Government Services Canada will have the company provide site support services at the 5 Wing Canadian Forces Base in Goose Bay, Canada. This new contract extends the current 11-year agreement through March 2016. Under the extension, Serco will continue to perform the majority of the non-military operation and maintenance functions at this base, which is located in Central Labrador. Serco has been providing services to the Canadian Department of National Defense at 5 Wing Goose Bay since 1998 and is the largest private sector employer in the area.
Colombian Navy Receives New Equipment. Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos delivers two helicopters and three hovercraft to the Navy earlier this month to improve security operations and search and rescue. The president, the defense minister and other officials gathered at the ARC Bolivar Naval Base in Cartagena Jan. 3. The helicopters–Bell 412EP–came from Canada, while the hovercraft came via the United Kingdom. The river patrol boat was made in Colombia. In total, the navy will receive eight hovercraft, four helicopters and four patrol boats.
JASSM Finland. Lockheed Martin receives a third Foreign Military Sales contract from Finland for the Joint Air-To-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), the company says Jan. 10. The $13.3 million contract is part of a six-year project to outfit the missile on the Finnish Air Force’s F-18C/D aircraft. The latest contract will provide wind tunnel models and test support, software development completion, logistics support and engineering documentation until the fourth quarter of 2016. Finland is JASSM’s second international customer, following Australia.
ISS to 2024. President Barack Obama decides to extend operations of the International Space Station (ISS) to 2024, according to a NASA statement. The White House says in a statement it is hopeful and optimistic that the Unites States’ ISS partners will join this extension effort and thus enable continuation of the groundbreaking research being conducted in this unique orbiting laboratory for at least another decade.
Virgin Galactic. Virgin Galactic’s passenger-carrying reusable space vehicle SpaceShipTwo achieves its highest altitude of 71,000 feet during a Friday test flight, according to a company statement. SpaceShipTwo also achieved a maximum speed of Mach 1.4. The test flight was the third rocket-powered supersonic flight for SpaceShipTwo. Test pilots also tested SpaceShipTwo’s newly-installed thermal protection coating on its tail booms as well as its reaction control system (RCS), which will allow SpaceShipTwo’s pilots to maneuver the vehicle in space and aid the positioning process for reentry. A Virgin Galactic spokeswoman said Friday the company hopes to be undertaking full space test flights in the spring and commercial operations during the second half of the year. SpaceShipTwo’s propulsion system is developed by Sierra Nevada Corp.
F119 Sustainment. The Air Force awards Pratt & Whitney an undefinitized contract action via a not-to-exceed $231 million modification for an existing contract for F119 engine sustainment, according to a Defense Department statement. The contract modification is for 2014 sustainment. The F119 engine powers the F-22. Pratt & Whitney is a division of United Technologies Corp.
AOC Award. The Air Force awards Northrop Grumman a $12 million cost-plus-incentive-fee modification for Air Operations Center (AOC) Weapon System modernization, engineering and manufacturing development and initial deployment, according to a DoD statement. The modification is to an existing contract that has a cumulative face value of $513 million. The award is for a “credit/debit” modification to modify the plan for engineering and manufacturing development and initial deployment, to incorporate a new program schedule and strategy and to clarify requirements. Work is expected to complete by Nov. 25, 2015. The AOC, developed by Northrop Grumman, is the Joint Force Air Component Commander’s (JFACC) principal tool for planning and executing an air campaign, supporting missions for humanitarian relief, homeland defense and other major theater contingencies and supporting service or joint exercises or simulation events, according to Northrop Grumman.
GANST Award. The Air Force awards Raytheon a $134 million contract to develop a terminal known as the Global Aircrew Strategic Network Terminal (GANST) that would transmit emergency messages to aircrews during nuclear and non-nuclear missions, according to a company statement. GANST is part of the nuclear command and control (C2) system that allows the president to direct and manage U.S. forces. The terminals will be installed at fixed sites, including wing command posts, nuclear task force and munitions support squadrons and forward deployed mobile support teams. Fielding is expected to begin in fiscal year 2017.
Orbital Hire. Orbital Sciences hires Tom McCabe as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, according to a company statement. McCabe will direct Orbital’s legal, ethics and compliance and regulatory affairs functions and will be based at the company’s Dulles, Va., headquarters. McCabe was previously senior vice president and general counsel at Alion Sciences and Technology in Washington.
Boeing X-37B. Boeing plans to expand a former space shuttle facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to enable the Air Force to efficiently land, recover, refurbish and re-launch the secretive X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), according to a company statement. The OTV is the Air Force’s 29-foot-long reusable unmanned spacecraft. Designed to operate in low-earth orbit, 110 to 500 miles above the Earth at a nominal speed of about 17,500 miles per hour, the vehicle is the first since the Space Shuttle with the ability to return experiments to Earth for further inspection and analysis. The X-37B is also developed by Boeing.
Morin Confirmed. The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) confirms Jamie Morin to become DoD’s next Director, Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE), according to a SASC spokeswoman. Morin last served as acting Air Force under secretary and prior to that was assistant Air Force secretary for financial management and comptroller.
Boeing Mexsat. Boeing completes the first of two 702HP (high power) geomobile satellites for Mexico’s new Mexsat end-to-end satellite communications system, according to a company statement. Mexsat will provide enhanced social communications to the people of Mexico, as well as capability for military, civil and humanitarian needs. The first satellite, Centenario, and the second, Morelos-3, are scheduled for launch in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Boeing is the overall integrator for the Mexsat system, which comprises three satellites, two ground network and satellite control stations in Mexico, associated network operations systems and 67 reference user terminals.
Almost Done Negotiating. Lawmakers expect to vote the week of Jan. 13 on a three-day continuing resolution to keep the government running just a bit longer than the Jan. 15 deadline to pass a new spending bill. To open the government back up after the October shutdown, Congress agreed to a series of deadlines: pass a budget framework in December, pass a detailed spending bill in January and raise the debt limit in February. Congress met its first deadline, but Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) said Friday that her committee and its House counterpart need just a little more time to iron out some final details. The bill being worked on will include full-year, not prorated, funding, and it will combine all dozen subcommittees’ bills into a single omnibus bill for quicker passage.
Longtime HASC Staffer. Longtime House Armed Services Committee (HASC) staffer John Chapla dies Jan. 5 at the age of 66 after a long struggle with cancer, according to the committee. Chapla attended the Virginia Military Institute, was commissioned in the Army in 1968 and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He joined HASC in 1994 and spent his career focusing on military personnel issues. HASC Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) says, “What made John special was his consummate professionalism. He shaped two decades worth of defense authorization bills, from the post-Cold War drawdown, to the war on terrorism, and the drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan. As lead professional staff member for the Military Personnel subcommittee, John dealt with challenging and complex political issues with his no-nonsense, just-the-facts approach. He was an island of calm in turbulent waters.”
…HASC Welcomes New Member. Newly sworn-in Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.) becomes the newest HASC member, filling a space left by fellow Alabama Republican Martha Roby, who left HASC in December to join the appropriations committee. Byrne was sworn into the House on Jan. 8 after his predecessor, former Rep. Jo Bonner, retired in August. “It is my great privilege to congratulate Congressman Byrne on his election and welcome him to the Armed Services Committee,” McKeon said. “Over the years, the Committee has been blessed by many great Congressman from the Gulf Coast, and I know Brad will continue on that tradition. The men and women of Alabama’s 1st Congressional district are fortunate to have him, as are we.”