One of Virginia’s fastest growing companies will support over 2,000 geographically dispersed users of the NESDIS Integrated Information Services II contract

VIENNA, Va. (Alpha Omega Integration PR) — Alpha Omega Integration has been selected by NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) to support the requirements of the Integrated Information Services, and ensure a cohesive, scalable, and cost-effective delivery of IT services. Our services will help NESDIS provide secure, timely access to global environmental data to promote and protect the nation’s security, environment, economy, and quality of life.

“Alpha Omega is honored to play a role in supporting NOAA’s mission which is rightfully prioritized at the top of our national agenda as demonstrated via the meaningful investments contained in the recently signed Inflation Reduction Act,” said Gautam Ijoor, Alpha Omega Integration’s President and CEO. “Our partnership with NESDIS via the NIIS program reflects Alpha Omega’s commitment to supporting climate science and having a profound, lasting impact on future generations. We are pleased to have started this important work after unexpected delays.”

SILVER SPRING, Md. (NOAA PR) — NOAA successfully completed a year-long, first-ever Cooperative Research and Development Agreement  (CRADA) with Microsoft’s Azure Orbital, which explored how commercial capabilities could assist NOAA’s satellite operations by using commercial products and cloud operations to control the satellites and acquire data in a cyber-secure environment. The information gleaned from this CRADA will provide input to NOAA’s future strategic activities. 

The CRADA was a “proof-of-concept” effort to determine if commercial cloud services can provide satellite mission management for NOAA’s legacy polar satellites. As a secondary objective, Azure demonstrated the ability to comply with some government security controls in both a rapid and effective manner. 

WASHINGTON (Senate Commerce Committee PR) – U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., ranking member and chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, along with Sens. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., ranking member and chair of the Subcommittee on Space and Science, today sent a letter requesting that Vice President Kamala Harris prioritize space debris issues in her role as chair of the National Space Council. The Senators also sent a letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to inquire about the department’s outer space-related efforts following Russia’s destructive anti-satellite test two weeks ago.    

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Congress approved a budget boost for the Office of Space Commerce (OSC) as it gears up to oversee civilian space traffic management (STM) and space situational awareness (SSA).

Congress provided OSC with $10 million and approved its plan with the merge with the Office of Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 approved on Monday. The amount is $5.9 million above the total the two offices received fiscal year 2020.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had wanted to elevate OSC into a bureau that would report directly to him. However, Congress elected to keep the office within the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS).