Steve Peacock's U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor

NASA Creates Unit to Hasten Dawning of Nukes on Moon

The eventual deployment of nuclear reactors on the Moon blasted a baby step closer to reality today, with NASA embarking upon the creation of a new unit tasked with bringing such a nuclear capability to fruition. The Technology Demonstration Unit (TDU) for Fission Surface Power (FSP) on Nov. 14 began searching for potential contractors capable of helping the new entity to initially develop and test a "simulated nucelar heat source," according to a presolicitation notice that The Peacock Report (TPR) located via a routine search of the FedBizOpps database. The TDU is "planned as a 5 or 6-year activity with concept definition and risk reduction that could lead to the start of a potential flight development program in the future," the document says:

FSP systems provide a potential option to support future human exploration missions on the Moon and Mars. FSP is a current technology project under the Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) sponsored by the NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.

TPR broke the story early last year that the Bush Administration envisions building nuclear facilities and robotic spacecraft-manufacturing plants on the Moon as a critical step in eventually sending humans to Mars (see TPR, 03/23/2006; New Details of U.S. Moon-Base Project Reveal Nuclear Intentions).

U.S. Offers More Cash for Israeli ' Star Wars ' Missile-Shield Project

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) intends to award a sole-source award enabling a U.S. think-tank affiliate to continue its systems engineering & integration efforts for Israel's version of the "Star Wars" missile shield concept. Under the three-year, $16 million contract, Wales. Ltd. -- a subcontractor for the National Institute for Public Policy (NIPP) -- will provide "studies and analysis" for what is known as the Israeli Middle-East Theater Defense Architecture Study and Development Program. Specifically, Wales, Ltd. will identify, evaluate, and rank "alternative means of improving the Israeli Missile Defense System architecture," according to a Special Notice dated Feb. 16 that The Peacock Report located via a routine search of the FedBizOpps contractor database.

The contract, which MDA anticipates it will award to Wales, Ltd. on or around Nov. 1, 2007, is a follow-on measure to existing U.S.-funded technical support of the project. For instance, in 2003 MDA had modified an earlier Wales Ltd. contract for the Israeli defense endeavor, extending that contractual arrangement from its initial five and a half "period of performance" to seven years with options, while also elevating the approximate value of a contract award dated July 2001 from $8.5 million to $12.5 million.

The studies and analyses slated to be conducted under that contract were similar to the current "alternative means" of improving Israel's missile defense capabilities, but additionally sought to provide "risk reduction and alternative technologies for U.S. ballistic missile defense programs as well as phenomenology and kill assessment data."

Wales, Ltd. in 2002 separately received a "Forward Launch Missile Threat" assessment contract, which involved:

the preparation of a report and briefing on, but not limited to: ship or submarine launched, forward based or transported ballistic missile threats and defense from the Israeli perspective to MDA, with an estimated period of performance of five months.

Although the 2001 document is the earliest available FedBizOpps notice of Wales' involvement in the project, that document likewise indicates that the new contract is simply a "follow on effort" to then-Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) contract # HQ0006-93-C-0015. BMDO is the predecessor organization to MDA.

Energy Dept. Gets Ready for More Nuclear Power in Space

The U.S. government appears to be gearing up for additional nuclear-powered, space-based operations, as it is now amassing a list of potential contractors capable of providing support for such endeavors. According to a "sources sought" notice that The Peacock Report located through a routine search of the FedBizOpps database, the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) is conducting a market survey of firms "capable of providing specialized technical, analytical, advisory and assistance and administrative support services" to DoE's Office of Nuclear Energy. This DoE unit, also known as NE-34, is particularly interested in partnering with companies experienced in the area of "space radioisotope power systems" -- the same kind of nuclear-enabled power source that makes possible the controversial Cassini space probe's continued flight across the solar system.

The Oct. 1997 launch of the Cassini spacecraft had met fierce resistance from opponents who unsuccessfully sought to halt the launch based on their position that the ship's power system -- packed with 72.3 pounds of plutonium -- was a threat to humanity.

The Lockheed Martin Titan IV rocket carrying the craft had a track record of mishaps, including an explosion three years earlier which sent a billion-dollar U.S. spy satellite plummeting into the Pacific Ocean. Although the same class of rocket ultimately catapulted the Cassini probe into outer space without complication, critics claim that NASA had done so after recklessly gambling on the health of the world's inhabitants, all of whom potentially would have been subjected to traces of cancer-causing plutonium.

This most recent nuclear initiative seeks to cull together nationwide experts to assist in the development of new radioisotope systems as well as to provide guidance on terrestrial radioisotope power systems and space reactor power systems. DoE similarly is looking for information from firms capable of providing launch operations and project management assistance as well as nuclear safety analysis services.

DoE expects to award contracts prior to April 1, when work could feasibly commence at multiple vendor sites, according to the document:

"This effort will require travel to various DOE facilities and locations. On-site performance at selected DOE facility will be required. Day to day interaction with NE-34 is a requirement for this contract; the Contractor shall maintain its facility within 40 miles of the NE-34 Germantown [Maryland] Office."

It remains unclear whether this endeavor is related to the Bush Administration's proposal to build a colony on the Moon. That project includes tentative plans to construct a nuclear power plant there, a March 23, 2006 breaking story that TPR was the first to report via the piece New Details of U.S. Moon-Base Project Reveal Nuclear Intentions.

Air Force Seeks to Create Hybrid Infowar/Public Relations Technologies

The U.S. military’s ability to repel electronic attacks while preserving its “freedom” to conduct such attacks are integral to achieving “information superiority” over the rest of the world, the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) says. However, these capabilities alone cannot guarantee such superiority, according to AFRL. Consequently, it has launched an R&D program whose goal is to combine cyberattack operations with public relations and military deception campaigns -- the outcome which would give decision makers the ability to control the “battlespace” and simultaneously mold “the perceptions and behaviors of leaders, groups, or entire populations.”

The “Information Warfare: Offensive and Defensive Counterinformation” program seeks to develop new and advanced technologies to provide war fighters with “all the mechanisms and services required” to achieve such control.

“This gives the commander freedom from attack, the freedom to maneuver and the freedom to attack,” the document, known as a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA 06-12-IFKA), says. “Information superiority is that degree of information advantage of one force over another that permits the conduct of operations at a given time and place without prohibitive opposition.”

The initiative calls for the submission of innovative concept papers that potentially “provide the Air Force with the greatest technology push possible,” the BAA says. It is focusing on three infowar subject areas: network warfare operations, electronic warfare operations, and “influence operations.”

Network warfare involves the destruction or disruption of “enemy” communications and data networks, whereas electronic warfare focuses on controlling the “electromagnetic domain” of various wireless systems.

Influence operations, on the other hand, emphasize a military commander’s ability to broadly disseminate information “to achieve desired effects across the cognitive domain.”

These capabilities are employed in the form of “psychological operations, military deception, operations security, counterintelligence operations, counterpropaganda operations and public affairs operations,” according to the BAA.

Though participation initially was limited to U.S. firms and persons, earlier this month the Air Force authorized “foreign allied participation” at the prime contractor level. It specifically designated those foreign allies as Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United Kingdom.

Approximately $40 million has been tentatively approved to launch the project. AFRL says it anticipates funding the endeavor at the rate of about $10 million annually between fiscal years 2006-2009. It expects to award individual contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements not to exceed 24 months, with dollar amounts ranging from $100,000-$1 million per year.

“Information superiority is an integral part of air and space superiority, an Air Force doctrine,” the agency says.

New Details of U.S. Moon-Base Project Reveal Nuclear Intentions

The first steps toward building a manned lunar base and eventually sending astronauts to Mars quietly unfolded in recent days, as NASA issued a call to industry and academia for proposals on how to best proceed with those projects. Although President Bush in January revealed his preliminary intentions to jump-start future U.S. space missions, The Peacock Report (TPR) this week obtained planning documents revealing the possibility of constructing nuclear power plants on the moon, where “both human and robotic agents” would operate technology production facilities.

NASA has begun searching for a contractor to first devise a Lunar Base Report, which would provide specifications and graphic renderings of a conceptual lunar base. The creation of what are known as “In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) production facilities,” which would extract mineral and other resources from the moon and Mars to produce materials, also will be addressed via the report. Additionally, it would evaluate the potential role of private, commercial ventures in outer space.

Without fanfare, NASA on Wednesday called for concept papers that would tackle separate but intertwined initiatives aimed at constructing a lunar base as well as landing video-enabled payloads on the moon. NASA wants to hire a contractor to conduct a “External Study” on the ability of industry to carry out the manned race-back-to-space, which hypothetically would begin with what is called the Lunar Robotic Landing Challenge (LRLC). The LRLC would involve private ventures competing to “launch a payload from the surface of the Earth and land it on the surface of the Moon. The payload must perform certain functions and ultimately transmit images back to Earth for proof of the Challenge accomplishment.”

NASA is calling for proposals from contractors to assess the viability of conducting the LRLC. The selected contractor would, in essence, review the capabilities of other contractors expressing interest in in the Challenge.

“One study is envisioned for award under this procurement action,” a NASA document says. “The study will collect industry perspectives on the LRLC and analyze that information. The results will include an assessment of the state of the industry and recommendations regarding the relevance of and implications on the LRLC. The results of this study will be made available to decision-makers.”

Segments of the proposal to carry out the study appear to contradict Bush’s statements on international involvement, as it raise questions about the role of other nations in the space program.

For instance, earlier this year the president said, “We'll invite other nations to share the challenges and opportunities of this new era of discovery. The vision I outline today is a journey, not a race. And I call on other nations to join us on this journey, in the spirit of cooperation and friendship.”

However, the planned LRLC study calls on the contractor to “address the implications of possible decisions in policy issues such as… the inclusion/exclusion of non-U.S. participants.” The study therefore requires the contractor to “identify the pros and cons for possible decisions that may be taken” on issues such as “Participation of non-U.S. entities” and “U.S. vs. foreign launch sites.”

The separate issue of what are technically known as the Mars Scout Space Flight Missions reveals more detail on where the U.S.-global partner delineation may be found. NASA, the documents say, will hold the reins of the “Mars Scout Mission investigations launched by December 31, 2011, that involve complete spaceflight missions.” The “Mars Scout Mission of Opportunity,“ on the other hand, involves “scientific investigations through participation in space missions sponsored by organizations other than the NASA Mars Exploration Program including missions sponsored by non-U.S. organizations.”

The cost cap specifically for the Mars Exploration Program is anticipated to be $475 million, in terms of fiscal year 2006 dollars (also known as “constant year dollars“). That amount is equivalent to approximately $531 million “real year dollars.” The Mission of Opportunity cost cap is anticipated to be $35 million in FY 2006 dollars.