What’s Ahead

Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID), left, and Mike Crapo (R-ID) speak at the launch event for the National Reactor Innovation Center at Idaho National Laboratory on Aug. 14. (Image credit – INL)

DOE Advanced Reactor Initiatives Moving Forward

As work continues on a conceptual design and official cost estimate for a new Versatile Test Reactor user facility, the Department of Energy is holding two scoping sessions this week and accepting comments through Sept. 4 to inform an environmental impact assessment. The proposed reactor, to be located at either Idaho National Laboratory (INL) or Oak Ridge National Laboratory, would be the only high-energy neutron irradiation facility outside Russia that would allow testing of materials and fuels intended for use in certain kinds of commercial advanced nuclear reactors. This is the first time DOE has presented its preliminary vision for the project to the public. According to an FAQ recently posted on the DOE website, the department expects the facility to cost between $3 billion and $6 billion and begin operations between 2026 and 2030. A law enacted last year calls for construction of the facility by the end of 2025. In accord with another provision in that law, DOE officially launched a National Reactor Innovation Center at INL on Aug. 14 to support private sector work on new advanced reactor designs.

EPA Science Panel Delving into Data Privacy

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board will hold a teleconference Tuesday to discuss EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler’s request for advice on how best to secure personally identifying information and confidential business information in applying the agency’s proposed science transparency rule. The charge specifically asks about implementing a “tiered” approach employed by agencies such as the National Institutes of Health that restricts access to data based on the risk that it could reveal personally identifying information. SAB is also asked to comment broadly on how studies employing confidential information could be used to make regulatory decisions under the rule, which would prevent EPA from using certain studies that lack publicly available data when promulgating new regulations. The transparency rule, which EPA aims to finalize later this year, has been a source of tension between the agency and the board. SAB voted at its last meeting to go beyond the limited scope of EPA’s charge to undertake a broader review of the rule.

Workshop Looks to AI for Spectrum Sharing Solutions

The interagency Networking and Information Technology R&D program is convening a workshop this week to explore the application of artificial intelligence in managing the radiofrequency spectrum. The opening of new spectrum bands to 5G telecommunications applications has brought urgency to the subject, as federal users of adjacent bands worry about potential interference with weather satellites and radiotelescopes. Given the increasing use of broader swaths of the spectrum, the workshop will consider the role of AI in enabling a shift away from manual allocation of spectrum in rigid, fixed bands to a dynamic spectrum management paradigm. As an example of AI-enabled spectrum sharing, a program manager from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will discuss the Spectrum Collaboration Challenge, a prize competition that aims to “reimagine new spectrum access strategies in which radio networks autonomously collaborate to dynamically determine how the radio frequency spectrum should be used moment to moment.” The winner of the final competition, scheduled for October, will receive a $2 million prize.

In Case You Missed It

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left, presents a custom White House box of M&Ms to Vice President Mike Pence as a sign of his appreciation for President Trump’s interest in sending a crewed mission to Mars even as NASA pursues the administration’s more immediate goal of returning astronauts to the Moon. (Image credit – NASA / Aubrey Gemignani)

Space Council Directs NASA to Firm Up Moon-to-Mars Plans

On Aug. 20, at its sixth meeting, the National Space Council approved a recommendation that NASA designate an office and submit a plan within 60 days for “sustainable lunar surface exploration and development, including necessary technologies and capabilities, to enable initial human missions to Mars.” The council also resolved that lunar surface operations will be the agency’s “top priority for international cooperation.” Addressing the council, University of Notre Dame lunar scientist Clive Neal said the U.S. should avoid thinking of the Moon as a “stepping stone or a box to check on the way to Mars.” He urged instead a robust focus on resource extraction, which would require a broad “campaign” of geologic prospecting. However, the council was also cognizant that President Trump has chided NASA for promoting its Moon landing plans at the expense of its longer-term goal of a crewed Mars mission. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine presented Vice President Mike Pence, the council’s chair, with M&M candies in a custom White House box as a token of his focus on both goals. Holding it up, Pence told him, “I’m going to take this box of M&Ms back to the president right after you sign it. He’ll know even better today that you got the message: it’s M and M. That’s worth remembering.”

White House Revamps Nuclear Spacecraft Launch Approval Process

As part of an effort to promote nuclear power and propulsion technologies, President Trump issued a memorandum on Aug. 20 that revises the launch authorization process for spacecraft that use radioactive materials. The memo sets launch safety guidelines for all types of spacecraft and establishes a tiered system wherein lower-risk missions will no longer require White House approval. The move coincided with the meeting that day of the National Space Council, which recommended the policy change. Administration officials have said the new framework provides greater clarity on acceptable risk levels to spacecraft designers and reduces inefficiencies in the review process. An OSTP official told FYI that in recent decades the interagency launch safety reviews have generally taken four to seven years and cost “at least” $40 million each. Under the new policy, once a given nuclear system configuration is deemed safe, review teams for subsequent similar missions need only demonstrate they fit within the bounds of the prior safety analysis rather than perform a new one from scratch. For the first time, the policy also lays out criteria specific to non-federal missions and fission reactors, a technology NASA is exploring with renewed interest.

Europa Clipper Passes Key Milestone, Gains Gravity Science Team

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced Aug. 19 that the flagship Europa Clipper mission has successfully passed Key Decision Point C, marking the beginning of spacecraft fabrication and confirming the agency’s intent to launch the mission. The milestone also sets the mission’s official baseline lifecycle cost at $4.25 billion and establishes firm schedule commitments. While NASA continues to target a 2023 launch per congressional direction, the mission’s official readiness date accommodates a launch as late as 2025. Following launch, NASA plans for the Clipper to make more than 40 flybys of Jupiter’s moon Europa, which is suspected to harbor an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy crust that could potentially support life. Speaking to the Outer Planets Assessment Group on Aug. 20, NASA official Curt Niebur announced the agency has given the go ahead for the mission to include a gravity science team, which will develop an additional means of studying Europa’s subsurface composition. He warned, though, that the team will not be allowed to propose significant changes to the spacecraft’s design.

University Researcher Charged With Not Disclosing Chinese Funding

On Aug. 21, the Department of Justice indicted University of Kansas chemistry professor Feng Tao for wire fraud and program fraud, alleging he “hid” his connection to a Chinese university from the Department of Energy and National Science Foundation, who were funding his research. Tao allegedly signed a five-year employment contract with Fuzhou University in 2018 through the Changjiang Professorship program, which the indictment identifies as one of China’s various talent recruitment programs. While the case does not involve allegations of espionage, the head of DOJ’s National Security Division, John Demers, indicated Tao’s dual employment represents a “conflict of commitment” and asserted he “defrauded” the government by secretly working for both universities simultaneously. However, some have observed Tao’s affiliation with the Chinese university was noted on several public websites. While the government has leveled similar charges against scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as part of a broader crackdown on Chinese talent recruitment programs, this latest indictment is perhaps the first instance of a university researcher facing criminal charges for such conduct. However, some universities have recently ousted several researchers from their jobs on similar grounds.

NASA Launches 12 Week Review of ISS National Lab

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced on Aug. 13 that the agency has commissioned an independent review of the portion of the International Space Station designated as a national laboratory, which has been managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) since 2011. SpaceNews reports that NASA sent CASIS a letter that day calling for a “strategic pause” to its activities as a panel performs the review, estimating it will take 12 weeks. The review comes as NASA is advancing a new low-Earth orbit commercialization strategy. To date, CASIS has struggled to drum up commercial demand for the science resources available on the station.

Report Finds Issues with New Weather Satellite Instruments

On Aug. 12, the Department of Commerce Inspector General released an audit of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s new series of next-generation geostationary weather satellites, known as GOES-R. The report comes after a key instrument on the second satellite in the series, GOES-17, suffered a “mishap” with its cooling system on orbit. Though NOAA developed a work-around that enables the instrument to collect 97% of its intended data, the report states the higher operating temperature “will affect the reliability of the instruments, satellites, and ultimately, the constellation availability,” and that changing the cooling system design in subsequent GOES satellites will have ramifications for cross-satellite analyses. The report further found the GOES-R series magnetometers are “less accurate than the previous series” and that the performance issues will “very likely propagate” to subsequent satellites. The last two of the four satellites in the series are scheduled for launch in 2021 and 2024. The report also identified deficiencies with the risk management processes for orbital positioning of the satellites and replacing servers for the ground control systems. NOAA has agreed with all the recommendations in the report.

Events This Week

All times are Eastern Daylight Time and all congressional hearings are webcast, unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement.

Monday, August 26

ACS: Annual Meeting (continues through Thursday) San Diego, CA

Tuesday, August 27

EPA: Teleconference on Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science Rule 1:00 - 5:00 pm DOE: Versatile Test Reactor Scoping Webinar 6:00 pm

Wednesday, August 28

NITRD: “Workshop on Artificial Intelligence and Wireless Spectrum: Opportunities and Challenges” (continues Thursday) Rome, NY DOE: Versatile Test Reactor Scoping Webinar 8:00 pm

Thursday, August 29

National Academies: “Economic Benefits of the Global Positioning System” 1:00 pm, Webinar Union of Concerned Scientists: “Fantastic Briefs and How to Use Them: Engaging with Policymakers, the Media, and the Public” 3:00 - 4:00 pm, Webinar

Friday, August 30

No events.

Tuesday, September 3

National Academies: “Standing Committee on Advancing Science Communication Research and Practice,” meeting two (continues Wednesday) Keck Center (500 5th St. NW, DC) Purdue University: Atoms for Humanity Summit (continues through Thursday) West Lafayette, IN

Opportunities

FYI Hiring Science Policy Reporter

AIP is accepting applications for a science policy reporter to join the FYI team based in College Park, Maryland. The reporter will write and edit content for multiple FYI email newsletters and web resources as part of an editorial team. Applicants with a bachelor’s degree and at least three years of science policy, science writing, or policy reporting experience are encouraged to apply.

House Science Committee Majority Hiring Staffer

The House Science Committee majority is seeking a professional staffer to support its Research and Technology Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and several cross-cutting policy areas. Candidates with a technical or policy background in information and communication technology are encouraged to apply, as the committee looks to advance initiatives in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and 5G telecommunications.

AAU Hiring Policy Analyst

The Association of American Universities is accepting applications for a policy research associate position. The individual will conduct quantitative research and assist in developing one-pagers on policy areas, among other duties. Candidates should have a bachelor’s degree and at least two years of relevant experience. Applications are due Sept. 3.

For additional opportunities, please visit www.aip.org/fyi/opportunities. Know of an opportunity for scientists to engage in science policy? Email us at fyi@aip.org.

Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.