GovConJudicata Weekly Debrief (9/30–10/4)
This week's Weekly Debrief covers the White House's artificial intelligence guidance, ULA's Vulcan, SpaceX's Falcon 9, Carahsoft raid a wakeup call for resellers, and a Maryland concessions contract.
AI
"New federal guidance for acquiring artificial intelligence solutions directs U.S. agencies to take steps to manage risks, promote competition and share information within the executive branch. The White House Office of Management and Budget on Thursday publicly released its anticipated memorandum on responsible AI acquisition in government (M-24-18), charting an initial path forward for agencies to buy products that use the booming technology in a safe and responsible way and placing new criteria on those contracts."
Space
"United Launch Alliance, one of the Pentagon’s top satellite launch providers, launched a second flight of its new Vulcan rocket — a significant step toward certifying the vehicle to fly national security missions."
"The Federal Aviation Administration has granted approval for the Falcon 9 launch of the European Space Agency’s Hera asteroid mission, but is keeping the vehicle grounded for now for other missions. In an Oct. 6 statement, the FAA stated it authorized a return to flight for the Falcon 9 solely for the Hera mission, scheduled to lift off no earlier than Oct. 7 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The vehicle has been grounded since an anomaly during a deorbit burn of the second stage on the Crew-9 launch Sept. 28."
Acquisition
"The FBI and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s search of Carahsoft Technology Corp.’s headquarters last week is sparking new questions and concerns about the long-term viability of vendors selling in the federal market and dependable access to specific technologies by agencies. Former federal executives and industry experts said it may be time to rethink the IT value added reseller (ITVAR) approach as the FBI and DCIS raid shined a brighter light on supply chain risks that most vendors and agencies generally glossed over until now."
Maryland
"The state is moving closer to awarding a lucrative 20-year contract to run the concessions operations at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport — a year and a half after Gov. Wes Moore (D) pulled the plug on the initial procurement process, which was laden with controversy."
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