NASA privatizes management of space flight centers
NASA plans to transform itself into a commercial-like operation. To that end, the agency will spend $3.44 billion to hand over management of its flight center operations to a corporate team. The space agency late last month awarded a team led by Lockheed Martin Corp. the 10-year Consolidated Space Operations Contract to manage space operations.
NASA develops software to assist nation's air traffic controllers
NASA has developed two applications to help air traffic controllers at busy airports. The agency estimates that the software can save $800 million a year in air traffic control management costs. The NASA software, Traffic Management Adviser and Final Approach Spacing Tool, will make it easier for air traffic controllers to track and direct aircraft, said Heinz Erzberger, senior scientist for air traffic management at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.
State buys portables for classified data processing
The State Department has awarded four contracts for extra-secure portable computers from Cycomm Secure Solutions Inc. of Sebastian, Fla. Because of the products' sensitive nature, department officials cannot discuss how the products work, said John Arbin, State's information systems manager. Dulles Networking Associates of Chantilly, Va., Intelligent Decisions Inc. of Chantilly, MegaByte Business Systems Inc. of Richmond, Va., and Office Solutions Inc. of Alexandria, Va., won the State contracts.
State will refute report that says its efforts to correct date code are lax
The State Department this month plans to tell the General Accounting Office that it has its date code fix-it efforts well in hand, despite a recent GAO report that concluded the department badly needed to improve its year 2000 program. "I think the GAO report sends out an unfair message," said Dave Ames, deputy chief information officer and chief of State's Year 2000 Problem Program Management Office.
Lawmakers push FAA officials for progress on year 2000 fixes
Senate lawmakers last month questioned why the Federal Aviation Administration paints a rosier picture of its year 2000 progress than do the General Accounting Office and others. "Why are GAO and the Air Traffic Controllers Association more skeptical about your ability to be prepared than you've indicated here in your testimony?" asked Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) during a hearing of his Special Senate Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem.
NARA likely to seek agency records archival plans
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.—The coming directive for archiving electronic records will likely require agencies to develop plans for storing and destroying electronic records, according to a legal adviser at the National Archives and Records Administration. Agencies should expect that they will have to establish new records management schedules within two years, said Miriam Nisbet, special counsel for information policy in NARA's Office of the General Counsel. She spoke this month at the Interagency Resources Management and Chief
Condon: Agencies lack understanding of security directive
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.—Presidential Decision Directive 63 is playing up the importance of computer security, systems officials said this month at the Interagency Resources Management and Chief Information Officers Council Conference. But systems managers must do more to increase awareness and offer training in computer security, said Mary Ellen Condon, the Justice Department's director of information management and security staff, and a member of the CIO Council's Security Committee.
Feds counsel CIOs on the future of government IT
Virginia Beach, Va.—After getting feedback from government employees, the Chief Information Officers Council crafted a final version of its 1999 strategic plan. "We want you to put on your imagineering hats and think about the future," James Flyzik, the council's vice chairman and Treasury Department CIO told attendees of the Interagency Resource Management and CIO Council Conference this month.
What makes an IT team succeed? CIO Council spells out the skills
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.—In the latest update to the core competencies required of a strong information technology program, the Chief Information Officers Council has created a separate category on information management. The update is the work of the council's Education and Training Committee. Last year, it developed the original guide on the skills it considers crucial to a systems organization's success.
FAA awards $1.25b in contracts to small businesses
The Federal Aviation Administration recently awarded 14 contracts worth $1.25 billion jointly for services ranging from help desk to investment analysis support. The Broad Information Technology Services contracts are the largest ever awarded to small and disadvantaged businesses, an FAA official said. "There was some criticism that FAA was not doing anything for small and disadvantaged businesses, many of which are high-tech,'' said Jack Handrahan, an FAA contracting officer. "We wanted to do something to give
Digital atlas serves up transportation infrastructure data
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics has released a CD-ROM atlas of transportation facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico for use in geographic information systems. The North American Transportation Atlas Data CD-ROM contains geographic and infrastructure data in about 20 data sets for use by transportation planners and researchers, said Robert A. Knisely, BTS deputy director. The data sets include information about public use of airports, shipping ports, highway and railway networks, he said.
GAO: Lack of adequate management hinders SBA loan system
The Small Business Administration's new Loan Monitoring System faces implementation problems, according to the General Accounting Office. SBA faces difficulties because it lacks software project management and will have to implement the system without having a satisfactory information technology architecture in place, GAO said. In its report, Small Business Administration: Planning for Loan Monitoring System Has Many Positive Features but Still Carries Implementation Challenges, GAO recommended that SBA get the participation and support of senior program managers
SSA gets kudos for making systems more accessible
The Social Security Administration last month received the Siemens Award for Excellence for its use of devices that help disabled SSA employees. "We're happy that our initiative and hard work was recognized," said Clare McAndrew, assistive technology team leader in SSA's Office of Telecommunications and System Operations. "This [$35,000 award] helps us continue to use current and future assistive technologies to hire disabled workers."
Virginia and Dyncorp team up to build a spaceport at NASA site
WALLOPS ISLAND, Va.—Virginia has entered a joint venture with Dyncorp of Reston, Va., to develop and operate the $12 million Virginia Commercial Space Flight Center. Dyncorp will provide $4.5 million in operational support to the spaceport. The spaceport will include a new computer infrastructure for satellite launches. Dyncorp and Virginia will have to come up with $4.5 million more for the vertical service tower and the fueling and encapsulation facility, said Billie Reed, executive director of the
Commerce site lists resources for IT training
The Commerce Department recently launched a Web site to help information technology workers, employers and educators find information on IT training programs nationwide. The Go for IT site at http://www.ta.doc.gov/go4it posts profiles of 171 systems development programs in the United States. Users can search for programs by city, state, region and subject.
HCFA develops draft standards for protecting privacy of medical data
HHS Secretary Donna Shalala says the department must expand the legal protections for patient medical information. The Health and Human Services Department last month proposed what it called a carefully developed set of new national security standards to protect electronic medical records in the United States. The standards were ordered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The law doesn't mandate the kind of technology that must be used because
VA expects to meet March year 2000 deadline
VA's Harold Gracey says VA's success is due to department-wide planning and an early start. The Veterans Affairs Department will meet the administration's March deadline for year 2000 readiness, VA's senior systems officials said last month. VA has renovated 94 percent of its 319 applications, which support 11 mission-critical systems, said Harold Gracey, acting assistant secretary of VA for information and technology. VA has tested 84 percent of the systems and
AID awards contracts for global PC upgrades
The Agency for International Development last month awarded three companies contracts worth $50 million in total to upgrade AID's desktop systems around the globe. Government Technology Solutions Inc. of Placerville, Calif., Vanstar Government Systems Inc. of Fairfax, Va., and World Wide Technology Inc. of St. Louis will supply hardware and software for the upgrade, said John Streufert, the agency's IRM director.
New NOAA system will act as backup satellite data server
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last month awarded a two-year, $3.2 million contract to Integral Systems Inc. to build a backup system for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Program. The Lanham, Md., company will build the backup system at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. It will process weather data and images from the satellite if weather or other problems threaten or bring down systems at the primary operations center in Virginia.
Through cross-servicing effort, VA will handle GAO's data processing
The Veterans Affairs Department's Austin Automation Center will provide data processing services for the General Accounting Office. AAC won the three-year, $2 million contract last month when GAO's previous provider discontinued support in some key areas, said Bob Evans, AAC director. AAC will provide support for GAO's financial management, payroll support and statistical analysis systems. GAO will also use the center's time-sharing and help desk services, Evans said.
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