Space tourism is close to being reality. Tickets to go into outer-space are reportedly going on sale soon, but there are a few problems that need to be resolved first. The first issue is the fact that there is no destination for tourists to travel to. NASA’s lunar base is far from production, and traveling past the moon would require warp drive, which is far from a reality. This barrier would mean that any tourism in the near future would consist of an orbital trip of Earth. One would think this is an easy solution, yet there is still a problem that arises: radiation from the Sun can cause health concerns to any potential space tourists. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has purchased a high-performance micro-modular data center from Elliptical Mobile Solutions (EMS) and Nor-Tech, in hopes that this will be a solution. This miniature data center will be able to detect how much radiation a potential customer would absorb during a journey outside the Earth’s protective ozone layer. Ideally, this technology will help the FAA decide how much protection is required for tourists, and to make space tourism that much closer to becoming a reality.

Since assuming the position of federal Chief Information Officer one year ago, Steven VanRoekel has already saved the government $300 million and plans to expand those savings to $2.5 billion by 2015. His PortfolioStat program includes a multifaceted approach beginning with an examination of how federal agencies utilize IT commodities. The program is designed to later consolidate and improve the efficiency of data centers and in doing so empower agency-level CIOs. A new plan put forth by VanRoekel and acting Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Jeffrey Zients highlights the need to lower the costs and power footprints of federal agencies. By determining the agencies’ IT needs and not solely focusing on closing ‘non-core data centers’, the program can substantially improve the efficiency of IT services consumed by federal agencies.

Terry Halvorsen, Navy CIO, said he will green light the move of low-impact IT systems and mission functions to a commercial cloud provider unless a better financial DOD solution is identified. The statement was part of a memo he signed on April 1st, which gave guidelines for the proper use of commercial cloud services throughout the Navy. This new direction is a result of what many are calling a successful pilot with Amazon Web Services, which was used for the migration of the Navy Secretary’s public facing portal. The pilot has proved that the Navy can move publicly releasable information to a commercial cloud provider.

Amber Corrin has reported on the growing need for a relationship between the federal government and private sector with regards to cybersecurity. Following the failed cybersecurity legislation in 2012, the private sector has expressed interest in coordinating with the federal government to improve security measures and become operators of critical infrastructure. The desire to work with the government has increased in the previous year as utility CEOs identify the importance of security measures. Recognizing the partnership will benefit both parties, the private sector has determined the necessity to work alongside the government to reach economic and security goals.

A recent article by Camille Tuutti examines the use of unencrypted communications networks used to transfer sensitive information by the Veterans Affairs Department. The use of these unsecured networks creates the potential for hackers and other pernicious internet users to identify router information in Veterans Affairs and therefore target the agency’s crucial mission systems. A review by the department’s Office of the Inspector General in May of 2012 discovered third parties had conducted unencrypted transfers of information. Although the companies involved signed waivers accepting the security risks associated with a transfer of sensitive information such as IP addresses and health records, this practice undoubtedly puts the entire Veterans Affairs system in jeopardy of a cyber attack.

In recent years, government agencies have been required to reduce costs and cut back on spending. There are many ways to accomplish this, such as increasing employee efficiency which saves both time and tax dollars. Increasing collaboration and communication among employees is imperative for all agencies in the US to enhance employee satisfaction and improve efficiency. This not only leads to long-term benefits of the employees, but also increases transparency for citizens and supports their mission of serving the public.