Short Takes – 5-3-25

Changes in FCC rules to support GPS alternatives could impact DoD. BreakingDefense.com article. Pull quote: “Last August, the Space Force’s innovation arm, SpaceWERX, awarded a couple of small contracts to startup Trust Point to explore a PNT ground system that doesn’t rely on GPS. Trust Point is building a PNT satellite network that uses C-band, as opposed to L-band. Further, the service last September tapped four companies to build small, low cost satellites for stationing in low Earth orbit to kick off its Resilient Global Positioning System (R-GPS) to back up GPS signals: Astranis, Axient, L3Harris, and Sierra Space.”

We Could Soon Be Seeing Empty Shelves Everywhere. Here's Which Items Might Disappear First. NewsBreak.com article. Pull quote: “Don’t expect a toilet paper shortage like what we experienced during COVID lockdown. Because many essential goods like food, beverages and paper goods are more likely to be made domestically, they are more immune from these shortages, said Casey Armstrong, chief marketing officer of ShipBob, a global fulfillment and supply chain platform.”

Fiscal-Year-2026-Discretionary-Budget-Request. WhiteHouse.gov letter. Broadly written outline of spending reductions that the Administration wants to see in FY 2026 spending, clearly a political document. Pull quote: “The recommended funding levels result from a rigorous, line-by-line review of FY 2025 spending, which was found to be laden with spending contrary to the needs of ordinary working Americans and tilted toward funding niche non-governmental organizations and institutions of higher education committed to radical gender and climate ideologies antithetical to the American way of life.”

'You always have to prepare for the worst': The life of an emergency responder. WAPT.com article. Pull quote: “"So, you really have to have a good partner with you in there. My partner, he actually came from Canada for the training, so it's amazing that the Mississippi Fire Academy is the spot in all of the world that all of these folks are coming together for training at," McLendon said.”

U.S. Army Plans Massive Increase in Its Use of Drones. WSJ.com article (free). Pull quote: “The American industrial base will have to increase to produce the latest off-the-shelf technology that the Army wants. Last year, Ukraine built more than two million drones, often with Chinese components, U.S. officials say. But the U.S. military isn’t allowed to use parts from China.”

Special Conditions: Archeion Holdings LLC, Boeing Model 747-400/-400D/ -400F Series Airplanes; Electronic System Security Protection From Unauthorized External Access. Federal Register FAA final special conditions. Summary: “These special conditions are issued for Boeing Model 747-400/-400D/ -400F series airplanes. These airplanes, as modified by Archeion Holdings LLC (Archeion), will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport-category airplanes. This design feature is a digital systems architecture that will allow increased connectivity to and access from external network sources, ( e.g., operator networks, wireless devices, internet connectivity, service provider satellite communications, electronic flight bags, etc.) to the airplane's previously isolated electronic assets (networks, systems, and databases). The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.” Comments due: June 20^th, 2025.

Scientists warn an underwater volcano off Oregon coast is about to explode. The-Independent.com article. Pull quote: ““In 2011, we saw one of the venting areas become completely covered in lava flows,” Kelley said. “It wiped everything out. But what’s fascinating is that when we came back three months later, there were animals and bacteria colonizing the area again. They’re surprisingly resilient ecosystems.””