Click here to view the pdf

PARIS — A combination of new competition from U.S.-based Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and an unfavorable euro-dollar exchange rate means European governments may need to increase subsidies for operations of the Ariane 5 heavy-lift launch vehicle at Europe’s Guiana Space Center (CSG) in Kourou, French Guiana.

NASA I.T.: NASA’s Inspector General (IG) is faulting a $2.5 billion, four-year agency effort with HP Enterprise Services to transition computer support from a field center-based framework to organization-wide oversight. Now at its mid-point, the effort has led to difficulties with IT security and timely software patches, according to a recent audit. NASA IG Paul Martin urges careful consideration by NASA before exercising a three-year extension of the November 2011 HP contract.

U.S. AIR FORCE

Astronomers and engineers are looking to September for a flight demonstration of NASA hardware that could deliver “arc second” precision pointing and stability suitable for planetary observations using instrumentation suspended from high-altitude balloons.

U.S. Navy

Sixteen CubeSats carrying a range of engineering, science and educational projects developed by U.S. universities, nonprofits and NASA field centers are eligible for secondary payload flight assignments in 2015 through 2017, under the latest round of NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative selections.

U.S. Army Sauer Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., was awarded a $56,038,640 contract to build an operational readiness training complex at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif. Fiscal 2014 military construction funds in the amount of $56,038,640 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is April 30, 2016. Bids were solicited via the Internet with 22 received. Work will be performed at Fort Hunter Liggett. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity (W912QR-14-C-0006).