Short Takes – 7-27-23

A nearly 20-year ban on human spaceflight regulations is set to expire. ArsTechnica.com article. Pull quote: ““The challenge is if we start developing that [passenger safety] regulatory environment too soon before we have enough data, before we have enough knowledge of those individual vehicles, there is a long-term safety risk that something could go wrong," Drees told the House Science Committee. "The purpose of continuing to innovate while we develop these standards side by side with the regulator will allow us to have the most safe vehicles on the market in the future.”

TSA directives for oil and natural gas pipeline cybersecurity address evolving, intensified threat of cyberattacks. IndustrialCyber.co article. Pull quote: “Commenting on the latest TSA Security Directive for pipeline operators, Jason Christopher, director of cyber risk at industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos, wrote in an emailed statement that like the last version TSA’s update to its Security Directive for oil and natural gas pipeline cybersecurity focuses on performance-based, rather than prescriptive, measures.”

Renewal with revisions to Security Directive (SD) Pipeline-2021-02 series: Pipeline Cybersecurity Mitigation Actions, Contingency Planning, and Testing. TSA.gov directive update D.

Exclusive: America Is Struggling to Safeguard Water Supply From Hackers, New EPA Data Shows. TheMessenger.com article. Pull quote: “An even more worrying factor: the data obtained by The Messenger may mask the true extent of vulnerabilities in the water sector. According to the EPA official, “the systems that we're most concerned about are not the proactive systems that are signing up for programs like this.” In other words, the very fact that these systems volunteered for assessments may hint that they’re more engaged with cybersecurity than the average water utility.”

The Russians Packed Hundreds Of Vehicles Into A Crimean Repair Depot. The Ukrainians Just Hit It With A Cruise Missile. Forbes.com article. Pull quote: “The Kremlin could disperse its repair bases instead of merely moving them—reducing the overall risk by presenting the Ukrainians with more, and smaller, targets. But inasmuch as logistics benefits from scale, this dispersal would come at the cost of efficiency. Fewer vehicles repaired slower.”

Ukraine sends fresh troops into the battlefield in new push against the Russians. Politico.com article. Pull quote: ““The real test will be when they identify weak spots or create weak spots and generate a breach, how rapidly they’re able to exploit that with the combat power that they have in reserve, and how rapidly the Russians will be able to respond,” Kahl said during a July 7 briefing with reporters.”

SpaceX Dragon spacecraft had a thruster glitch at the International Space Station in June. Space.com article. Pull quote: “A SpaceX Dragon docked with the International Space Station for 23 days in June had a thruster valve stuck open due to a corrosion problem, a SpaceX official said Tuesday (July 25) during a NASA press conference.” Other Dragon craft checked.