Pax Reservist on the List to Move to Mars

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Leader’s owners or staff.

Navy Reserve Lt. Cmdr. Oscar Mathews, assigned to a Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland-based unit, has made the cut for a chance to move to Mars, reports Military Times. Also added to the list of 100 hopefuls who made the latest cut for Mars One, a not-for-profit foundation seeking to establish permanent human life on Mars, is California Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. Carmen Paul. Both candidates hope their prior military service will help them make the first cut to a 24-person training group, and onward to the four-person crew slated to launch on a one-way trip to Mars in 2024.

Loosening  export restrictions on armed drones will help US firms and shape world policy, reports Defense News. The new US State Department rules dovetail with the Administration’s priority to equip and train allies in counter-terrorism operations. Exporting drones is just the face of it on the economic front, reports Breaking Defense, gallium nitride is the secret sauce of this exportation deal. Raytheon developed GaN, which is more effective and efficient than prior semiconductor materials. The embedded technology has varied uses, suggesting it will prompt a broader and larger flow of export dollars than the narrow category of armed drones.

The new DefSec Ashton Carter hints of policy changes in the US timetable of the Afghan drawdown, reports The Hill.

A RQ-4 Global Hawk made its premier airshow appearance at the Avalon Air Show in Victoria, Australia and will be on static display early this week, reports Defense News. Indications are that the Australian Air Force will proceed with plans to purchase seven MQ-4C Tritons, the US Navy’s model of the Global Hawk, an unmanned,  high-altitude, long-endurance system; the Triton version including  advanced AESA radar and the ability to go below cloud cover.

Supporters of funding to assure the opening of a University System of Maryland research facility in Southern Maryland seek a show of local support for keeping the construction plans on schedule. To tap the technology transfer and economic development potential of the workforce surrounding  the NAS Patuxent River requires a top-flight research university be sited nearby, according to the Southern Maryland Navy Alliance. Supporters seek a restoration of full funding for the project in the State of Maryland’s FY16 budget, under current debate in Annapolis.

NBC is putting drones to photographic work, reports Jeff John Roberts of GIGAOM, which also links to the NBC video including the Niagara Falls frozen, noting  NBC did its reporting from the Canadian side of the border. Current FAA rules prohibit commercial use of drones in the US and new rules intended to loosen that policy will not take force “until at least 2016 at the earliest,” writes Mr. Roberts.

Modifications to Falcon, the SpaceX rocket designed to make deliveries to space and return intact, helped the rocket’s landing capability, but the recovery still fell short of success. In this month’s second trial, extreme weather rendered the vessel landing platform inadequate, reports Aviation Week, noting, however, that the rocket’s controlled sea entry indicates its landing issues were resolved. But with the platform vulnerable to extreme conditions and the pressing need to prove that recoveries are profitable on a routine basis, SpaceX will be looking to increase the rocket’s seaworthiness.

There’s a hiring blitz scheduled to get techies into government, but you couldn’t tell it from the worker dissatisfaction and hiring obstacles that define the US government’s current IT workforce. A new survey looks to addressing the growing shortages of topnotch, technology staff and the difficulties in retaining top staff, reports Next Gov.