Exploring

Spac

Through

Streami

Analyt

IT Talk

April - June 2015 Volume 5 • Issue 2

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

www.nasa.gov
IT Talk

Apr - Jun 2015 Volume 5 • Issue 2

Office of the CIO

NASA Headquarters

300 E Street, SW

Washington, D.C. 20546

Chief Information Officer

Larry Sweet

Editor and Publication Manager

Eldora Valentine

Graphic and Web Design

Rahsaan Williams

IT Talk is an official publication of the 

Office of the Chief Information Officer 

of the National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration, Headquarters, 

Washington, D.C. It is published 

by the OCIO office for all NASA 

employees and external audiences.

For distribution questions or to 

suggest a story idea, email:

eldora.valentine-1@nasa.gov

To read IT Talk online visit:

www.nasa.gov/offices/ocio/ittalk

For more info on the OCIO:

v www.nasa.gov/ocio

v insidenasa.nasa.gov/ocio

 (Internal NASA network only)

v www.nasa.gov/open/

www.facebook.com/NASAcio

Cover Illustration

Christopher Hawley, 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 

California Institute of Technology

3

6

9

5

10

Message from

the CIO

Exploring Space Through 

Streaming Analytics

Langley's Records 

Management Initiative

Leading in a World of 

Accelerating Change

I3P Update

In this Issue
Message from the NASA CIO

A lot of great work is happening at the 

Centers right now. NASA is looking 

at implementing Mobile Device 

Management capability. Approximately 

26,800 mobile devices across the 

Agency connect to NASA systems 

in order to support Agency mission 

and goals. These mobile devices are 

identified as iPhones, smartphones, 

iPads, BlackBerrys and tablets. Each of 

these mobile devices has the capability 

of storing NASA data on the device 

and accessing NASA systems. MDM 

will help us better protect NASA’s 

information and assets. It will also help 

us support NASA’s Bring Your Own 

Device (BYOD) activities in the future. 

Cybersecurity also remains a top 

priority for the Agency. Some 

employees travel out of the country 

for NASA business. Did you know 

that the Agency has strict policies 

in place for taking your NASA IT 

devices on foreign travel, and 

accessing NASA services from 

any device abroad? In this issue 

we’ll take a closer look at what 

you need to know before you 

head out on international travel.

And finally, Information Technology 

is changing at an ever increasingly 

rapid pace. By using rapid 

prototyping as an innovation tool, 

we have an opportunity to help 

NASA try out new technologies in 

a quick and inexpensive manner 

with very little risk. It also provides 

a powerful partnering opportunity. 

The only risk to rapid prototyping 

is to not learn something from it. 

In this issue our main story will 

focus on rapid prototyping as a 

path to lasting innovation. We 

are highlighting several actual use 

cases – or stories – that show rapid 

iteration and lasting success. 

I hope you enjoy our stories 

and join us on the path to help 

make NASA an ever more 

innovative place to work.

Raju Shah was selected as the new 

Deputy Chief Information Officer for 

the NASA Glenn Research Center 

(GRC) effective March 22, 2015.

Shah started his NASA career in 

April 2013, serving as the Chief of 

the Information and Applications 

Office, overseeing Information 

Management, Applications, 

Scientific Computing, and 

Visualization at GRC. He has over 

16 years of progressive experience 

in Information Technology in both 

the public and private sectors.

Previously, he was a Director of 

Information Technology at the 

University of Maryland, College 

Park. During his career at the 

University he led a variety of 

projects including IT consolidation 

initiatives, Business Continuity, 

Virtualization, VoIP installations, 

High Performance Computing/

Research Computing, and the 

development of IT governance 

standards. Congratulations!

New Deputy 

CIO for Glenn 

Research 

Center Named

~Larry

Gary L. Cox retired on March 31, 

2015 as NASA’s Deputy Chief 

Information Officer. He led the 

implementation of NASA’s information 

resource management strategy and 

IT reform initiatives which helped to 

strengthen the Agency’s technological 

infrastructure. Cox retired with 

29 years of federal service. We 

wish him well as he moves on 

to the next chapter of his life.

Farewell to NASA’s 

Deputy CIO!

NASA OCIO IT Talk Apr - Jun 2015 3
Did you know there are explicit 

procedural directives for taking 

your NASA IT devices on foreign 

travel, and accessing NASA 

services from any device abroad, 

even personal ones (e.g., iPhones, 

iPads, laptops, leased desktop 

computer at a coffee shop), are 

subject to the same restrictions 

and procedures? There is also 

a policy directive, that anyone 

using NASA equipment (e.g., 

laptop, smartphones, etc.) must 

get written permission from the 

Center Chief Information Officer 

(CIO), before traveling abroad with 

them, and when accessing NASA 

services (e.g., webmail, VPN, 

chat, etc.). Having approvals, and 

alerting the CIO to travel, reduces 

reported attacks on NASA 

(sometimes it’s hard to know if it’s 

friend or foe accessing systems), 

and also eliminates IT Security 

or the Security 

Operations 

Center blocking 

or suspending 

your access 

if it appears 

suspicious. 

The Agency has 

recently been 

the subject of 

especially-realistic 

and cleverlycrafted phishing 

emails, many 

deriving from foreign attackers. 

The almost daily, unsolicited 

attempts, try to get end-users to 

open an attachment, or to click 

on a link. Often the aim of these 

messages is to direct users to a 

very realistic copy of an Outlook, 

or other login page, with the sole 

purpose of harvesting email or 

NDC credentials. Once users fall 

prey to these seemingly-authentic 

phishing schemes, the attacker 

logs into their email using their 

credentials, can read and delete 

the end-user’s messages, set up 

filters, and find other valid NASA 

email addresses to send further 

phishing attempts to, only this 

time from a genuine, and therefore 

trusted, NASA email address.

In addition to ongoing vigilance, 

and a healthy skepticism of 

unexpected email messages, 

it is crucial, and mandatory, 

to follow all Foreign Travel 

business requirements (see link 

at right). Ideally, you should not 

be accessing work email while 

on personal travel, however, if 

your role requires you to check in 

during vacations abroad, make 

sure you alert your CIO and IT 

Security department you may be 

accessing from a foreign country. 

This way you won’t appear to be a 

foreign attacker, and your access 

won’t be blocked. It’s a winwin for everyone, to let the CIO 

know-know before you go-go. v

4 www.nasa.gov

LET THE CIO 

KNOW-KNOW 

BEFORE 

YOU GO-GO — 

INTERNATIONAL 

ACCESS

By: Dave Stein, NASA SOC

NASA Policy 

Directive (NPD 2540.1G) 

International Travel: 

The employee shall use only 

equipment officially approved 

for use outside of the U.S. 

for international business 

meetings, conferences, 

symposia, etc. The employee 

must ensure that the hardware 

remains in their possession 

while outside the U.S. Any 

loss, damage, or tampering 

shall be reported immediately/

at the earliest opportunity to 

the Center CIO. Under no 

circumstances should Agency 

laptops or personal computers 

be used for official business 

on International trips unless 

written authorization is first 

obtained from the Center CIO.

NASA Foreign Travel 

Info: 

https://www.nssc.nasa.gov/

foreigntravel

Consider a Loaner:

NASA travelers should consult 

with their Center CIO, for 

NASA IT equipment options 

for overseas travel such as 

the use of loaner laptops 

and phones. Use of loaner 

IT equipment, and loading 

only essential information on 

the equipment needed for 

travel, significantly reduces 

the potential for exfiltration of 

information from IT devices 

while traveling overseas. It 

also lessens the introduction of 

malware, on IT devices brought 

back from overseas, which can 

put the NASA network at risk.
Pamela Hanes

Neil Rodgers

Leading in a World of 

Accelerating Change

By Kathy Y. Rice, NEACC Communications Lead /IS02

Pamela Hanes and Neil Rodgers have 

a shared understanding and alignment 

of purpose while they embrace the 

challenges and triumphs of leading 

in a world of accelerating change. 

They both have unique experiences 

culminating in their current positions at 

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). 

Hanes was appointed manager of 

the NASA Enterprise Applications 

Competency Center (NEACC) in 

November 2014, formerly serving 

as NASA’s 

Deputy Chief 

Financial 

Officer at 

Headquarters. 

The Hanes 

appointment, 

paired with 

the arrival 

of a new 

Enterprise 

Integration 

Office, 

Preserving the Past for Future Generations

By: Maura White, Chair of the NASA Still Imagery Group, JSC

From the image of a single footprint 

in the lunar dust to the high-speed 

images of engineering tests, 

imagery captured in support of 

human spaceflight is an invaluable 

record of NASA's journey to 

expand the human horizon. 

The whole of the human spaceflight 

imagery collection is housed at the 

Johnson Space Center and includes 

mission imagery shot on board 

every spacecraft from the Mercury 

Program through the International 

Space Station, as well as institutional 

images captured in support of human 

spaceflight. The size, content and 

frequency with which this collection 

is accessed makes it wholly unique. 

It contains over 4 million still images 

documenting every test, training, 

and special event since NASA’s 

human spaceflight efforts began in 

1959; over 10,000 documenting the 

lunar rocks. 9.5 million feet of 16mm 

footage comprised of ground-based 

testing and mission footage are 

stored in this collection. Images from 

test documentation, crew portraits, 

completed video productions, 

lunar sample documentation, files 

downlinked from orbit, and film shot 

on the lunar surface -JSC’s collections 

are vast and continuously growing. 

Engineers, scientists, and the External 

Relations Office continuously request 

older footage and still imagery from 

the collection for a wide range of uses. 

The Orion Program used hundreds of 

images of the Gemini hatch testing 

to gather data for development and 

testing when designing the next 

generation flight vehicle. Scientists 

often request imagery for use in 

research proposals, presentations, 

data gathering, and analysis. Using 

this imagery, the External Relations 

Office works closely with external 

publishers and broadcasters to convey 

NASA’s message and tell our story. 

These images have helped frame what 

is possible in human achievement, 

captured the public imagination 

and engaged multiple generations 

in the quest to expand the known 

universe and improve life on earth.

A large percentage of the collection is 

not yet digitized, so work continues 

to migrate the full collection to a 

usable digital format. As it does and 

this invaluable resource continues 

to grow, its reach and impact will be 

expanded. It will continue to spark 

the imagination of people around 

the world and connect each coming 

generation with our shared past. 

headed by the NEACC’s former 

manager Neil Rodgers, represents a 

change of top NASA IT leadership. 

The new office will add value 

throughout the OCIO and improve 

communications to meet Larry Sweet’s 

top priorities for 2015. As Rodgers 

contemplated his leadership journey 

and those who influenced his career, 

he said, “The one characteristic I 

believe every leader should possess is 

serving others. By practicing ‘Servant 

leadership’ I can provide insight to 

help the people. My first branch 

chief gave me an appreciation for the 

importance of ‘relationship building’ 

and developing trust...the soft skills.” 

The new EAST2 support contract 

begins February 1, 2016. Inclusion of 

MSFC Center Applications within the 

EAST2 contract offers opportunities 

to pursue similar synergies across our 

civil service teams. As a result, an 

organizational realignment is underway, 

guided by Hanes. “Many challenges 

and opportunities drive the change 

taking place at the 

NEACC, including 

continued 

pressure 

to increase 

efficiencies given 

the realities of today’s budget climate 

and the opportunity to help the Agency 

leverage its extensive portfolio of 

software applications,” said Hanes. 

The new organizational realignment 

features Effective Stewardship, 

Customer-Focused and Portfolio 

Management among its cornerstones. 

Hanes is a “change leader” who 

believes in the transformational magic 

that takes organizations from great to 

exceptional. When asked, “Is ‘actionorientation’ woven into the culture 

of the NEACC and does it resonate 

with you?” Hanes remarked, “Yes! 

This team is all about getting the 

job done!” Pamela Hanes will help 

set technology direction across the 

NEACC’s $50 million annual IT budget.

NASA OCIO IT Talk Apr - Jun 2015 5
Photo courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech

Exploring Space Through Streaming 

Analytics

By Tom Soderstrom, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, and Dan Isla, IT Data Scientist, Office of 

the CIO, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

Summary: The Streams application 

allows operators to do interactive, 

hands-on analysis of billions of data 

points from flying spacecraft. It was 

developed using a rapid prototyping 

methodology and uses techniques 

from the stock market, open source 

software, open and hyper-agile 

development, and an analytics cloud. 

Within weeks, JPL was able to infuse 

new technology into missions that 

used to take years to accomplish. 

The problem: How could 

operators effectively perform 

real-time analytics of telemetry 

data from Mars. A crucially 

important problem is how to 

analyze telemetry data from the 

Curiosity rover, 150 million miles 

away. For example, If JPL could 

correctly predict thermal parameters 

Curiosity’s drive time on Mars could 

increase dramatically, which could 

lead to new and groundbreaking 

discoveries. Conversely, a mistake 

could seriously affect the $2B 

mission. JPL operations personnel 

painstakingly collected thermal 

telemetry data into PowerPoint 

that experts later analyzed. This 

took weeks and did not allow for 

interactive analysis or comparing 

data from several Curiosity 

instruments. This added cost, 

risk, and led to lost opportunities. 

The operational system was 

already built and changing it was 

both too costly and too risky.

The solution: JPLIT created 

an Analytics Cloud where 

developers and end users could 

safely innovate together and 

experiment with new capabilities 

using actual spacecraft data. 

There they prototyped a new 

interactive real-time analytics 

tool called Streams. As Curiosity’s 

data arrives from Mars into the prebuilt, hardened operational system, 

it is copied into the agile analytics 

cloud, where analysts can query and 

interact with the data using real-time 

visual analytics of over one billion 

telemetry data points, 26 million 

alerts, and 100 thousand images, 

and it is growing daily. They can 

also easily collaborate with experts 

located anywhere in the world.

Streams was quickly ported to 

the Soil Moisture Active Passive 

(SMAP) project, which was in 

final testing. For the first time, 

operators are able to compare a 

flying spacecraft to how it behaved 

during test, leading to new insights. 

(Continued on next page)

6 www.nasa.gov
Here are some of the key 

innovations that made 

Streams successful and 

their business outcomes:

1. Rapid prototyping led to quick, 

meaningful progress and lasting success. The rapid, low-cost, 

and low-risk approach of rapid 

prototyping together with end 

users helped create moments of 

engagement with a passionate 

end-user (Gordy Cucullu) and two 

primary developers (Rob Witoff 

and Dan Isla). By seeing something that was already working on 

mission data, mission executives 

and operators quickly agreed to 

put Streams into operation. 

2. The Analytics cloud enabled 

infusion of new technologies 

at low risk and scalable and 

affordable operations. All the 

data is automatically copied into 

the cloud where the visual analytics 

and trending occur. The missions 

pay only for what they use and 

changes are easily incorporated. 

3. An open environment helped 

developers to bring in new 

technologies and share code 

across many missions and 

multiple domains where sharing was previously not done. 

Using Open Source software and 

open development techniques in a 

JPL-private environment allowed 

developers to use new tools and 

to easily share code, as developers no longer needed to wait for 

permission to reuse code. Modern 

technology and practices are proliferating between groups that would 

otherwise not interact or share 

and code is reused for different 

purposes. A few of these included 

Amazon’s GovCloud, GitHub Enterprise, and several Open Source 

tools such as ElasticSearch, Mesosphere, Rickshaw, D3, Docker, 

Apache, Centos, Mesos, Chronos, 

Marathon, and Spark. Some of the 

groups that began sharing code 

include flight systems, ground systems, business systems, Human 

Resource systems, and IT systems. 

4. Interactive and visual analysis of massive amounts of 

spacecraft data is leading to 

important new insights into the 

spacecraft. Analysts now easily 

work together from remote locations and can now interact with and 

query all the data at once. Streams

was used during SMAP’s January 

2015 launch and helped answer 

a question in realtime that, if left 

unanswered could have forced 

the launch to be aborted. This is 

the first time in JPL history that a 

mission has been able to compare 

spacecraft behavioral data during 

the ground testing and actual operations in a simple visual manner, 

with all the data at their fingertips. 

This will change the way missions 

use test and operations data in the 

future and Streams will be used on 

many new missions. For example, 

it could enable the Mars 2020 rover 

to gain significantly more drive time 

on Mars with no change to the 

rover itself. 

The ITAR-certified analytics cloud (AWS 

GovCloud plus a hybrid cloud) coupled 

with the approach of open development, moments of engagement, and 

rapid prototyping has become an innovation factory and will pay dividends 

for years to come. 

NASA OCIO IT Talk Apr - Jun 2015 7
Langley’s Records Management Initiative (RMI) 

What is the RMI?

The five phase process for 

managing records at Langley 

Research Center (LaRC).

The goals behind the RMI are:

• Create an environment that 

fosters proper maintenance 

of Federal records 

throughout their life cycle. 

• Educate LaRC organizations 

on proper records disposition. 

• Continually improve 

records management 

across the Center.

Why RMI?

The Records Management 

Initiative (RMI) was created 

at LaRC as a result of the 

Presidential Memorandum 

on Managing Government 

Records. This memorandum’s 

chief objectives are to reform 

records management practices, 

improve performance, 

and promote openness 

and accountability. RMI 

is designed to accomplish 

those objectives by better 

documenting agency 

actions and decisions. 

Langley is tackling these 

objectives in a multiyear 

five-phase approach, all 

with a common goal: to 

help employees effectively 

and efficiently manage their 

records and facilitate the 

Center’s programmatic and 

administrative missions.

Phases of RMI

Langley’s Office of the 

Chief Information Officer 

(OCIO) implemented Phase 

1 of the RMI—Orphaned 

Records. In this phase, 

a team of Records 

Operation Assistants (ROAs) 

are visiting all Langley facilities 

to identify and inventory 

abandoned and orphaned 

records. In this phase, the 

ROAs are also educating 

Center employees on records 

accountability procedures and 

disposition procedures. To 

date, 89 percent of Langley’s 

facilities have been visited. 

The team has identified more 

than 5,000 cubic feet of 

orphaned documentation.

Phase 2 of the RMI—File 

Plans. In this phase, the ROAs 

will help Center organizations 

build and maintain file plans.

Phase 3 of the RMI—Tools 

& Training. In this phase, 

the ROAs will introduce a 

website and online training to 

assist employees with records 

management processes. The 

ROAs have initiated on-site 

weekly training opportunities. 

Module 1: Records 

Management Overview course, 

and Module 2: Records 

Management Basics.

Phase 4 of the RMI—

Inventory and Disposition. 

In this phase, the ROAs will 

assist Center employees with 

maintaining proper inventory 

and dispositioning records.

Phase 5 of the RMI—Vital 

Records. In this phase, the 

ROAs will help organizations 

identify/manage vital records.

The RMI has uncovered 

amazing discoveries of 

work accomplished here at 

LaRC that can be shared 

with future generations.

8 www.nasa.gov
CIOs attend Face To Face Meeting 

at Johnson Space Center 

March 24-26 2015.

Mobile Device Management

Today, approximately 26,800 

NASA provided mobile devices are 

deployed across the Agency to 

users in order to support the NASA 

mission and goals. These mobile 

devices are identified as IPhones, 

Smartphones, iPads, Blackberrys, 

and Tablets. Each of these mobile 

devices have the capability of 

storing NASA data on the device 

and accessing NASA systems.

In order to better protect NASA’s 

information and assets, NASA 

is implementing Mobile Device 

Management (MDM) capability. MDM 

provides for the administration of 

NASA’s mobile devices to allow for 

better data protection, deployment 

of mobile applications, asset 

tracking and management, and 

better support NASA’s BYOD future 

activities. NASA’s implementation 

of MDM will also include encrypted 

email capabilities on iPhones and 

Android devices and ease of access 

to NASA systems and applications, 

including password simplification. 

While not all of these benefits will 

be available immediately, they 

will be rolled out as phases of 

NASA's MDM implementation.

Users with one or more of a NASA 

mobile devices will be required to 

enroll their device(s) in the MDM 

system. MDM includes a software 

service that runs on a user’s mobile 

device. Instructions for carrying 

out enrollment and software 

installation will be provided in a later 

correspondence and the ESD will 

be prepared 

to assist end 

users who have 

questions. The 

enrollment 

process will be 

performed in 

“waves” with 

specific Centers 

grouped 

together 

to ensure 

an orderly 

transition into 

the MDM 

environment. 

If you have 

a NASA 

mobile device 

then you will 

get specific notifications and 

communications when it’s time 

for enrolling your devices.

Initially, NASA’s focus will be on the 

protection of NASA’s data and assets 

for IPhones, Android devices, and 

iPads. Once a user’s device has been 

enrolled in the MDM system and 

MDM is running on the user’s mobile 

device, the Agency has the ability to 

remove NASA information from that 

that device upon notification that 

the mobile device is lost or stolen. 

MDM will also enable the Agency 

to improve asset management of 

all NASA provided mobile devices. 

Remember, NASA’s MDM capabilities 

are being implemented in phases 

with added functions provided 

over the next several months.

End users of ACES-managed 

iPhones, Android devices, and iPads 

are encouraged to be on the lookout 

for upcoming details about MDM 

and the self-enrollment process.

NASA OCIO IT Talk Apr - Jun 2015 9
IT Infrastructure Integration Program (I3P) Update

Agency Consolidated 

End-User Services (ACES)

Like for Like Mobile 

Refreshes: Like-for-Like mobile 

refreshes are continuing on a 

rolling deployment schedule 

across NASA Centers. Like-forLike mobile refresh is for end 

users who will be replacing their 

mobile device with the same 

device type they currently have 

(e.g., iPhone to iPhone or cell 

phone to cell phone), the same 

carrier, the same services and 

the same phone number. Device 

refreshes include the following:

Like for Like iPad Refreshes:

The iPad refresh is for users 

with an ACES-managed iPad 

that is greater than 24 months 

old and want a replacement 

device with no changes to what 

they have today (within the 

same product family (iPad to 

iPad), the same carrier (AT&T, 

Verizon) and same services). 

Both iPhone and iPad refreshes 

are included as part of the 

monthly service fee for ACES 

seats and are not an additional 

cost. Users scheduled to receive 

any refreshes will receive email 

notifications prior to deployment 

with details on schedule and 

actions required for refresh, 

including backing up data 

from their original device. 

Java 8 Deployment – The 

upgrade from Java 7 to Java 

8 on ACES computers is 

scheduled to begin March 31. 

Java is used for interactive 

graphics on Web sites. Java 8 

should introduce no computer 

or application functionality 

differences, and there should 

be no noticeable behavior 

changes in the security prompts 

encountered after Java 8 is 

installed. Deployment of Java 

8 by ACES will not include 

adware. ACES end users with a 

business need to continue using 

Java 7 were required to submit 

the ACES EUSO Patch and 

Reboot Waiver/Deviation form 

to ensure their computer does 

not receive the Java 8 upgrade.

Communications Service 

Office (CSO)

The Communications Service 

Office (CSO) has initiated two 

important projects in support 

of NASA’s OCIO Network 

Transformation initiative: the 

Exterior Border Protection 

(EBPro) project and the 

Enterprise Interior BorderNetwork Access Control (EIBNAC) project. The initiatives 

were approved by the Mission 

Support Council (MSC) in 2013 

and funded for FY15-FY19.

The EBPro project, led by Kevin 

Boswell at LaRC, deploys 

enterprise Firewalls, Web 

Content Filters/Proxy servers, 

and Virtual Private Network/

Remote Access Services (VPN/

RAS) at NASA’s Internet Peering 

points. The purpose of EBPro 

is to improve the security 

posture of NASA’s corporate 

networks by moving the primary 

network security border to the 

edge of NASA’s networks, thus 

facilitating the creation of a true 

NASA intranet for improved 

collaboration between NASA 

Centers. The project also 

reduces costs for NASA Centers 

by alleviating the need for 

Center-specific VPNs; deploying 

a common Agency VPN 

solution that services all NASA 

users. Further, deployment 

of these EBPro systems will 

provide compliance with the 

Department of Homeland 

Security’s (DHS) Trusted Internet 

Connection (TIC) Reference 

Architecture Document 

Version 2.0 and create a 

consistent external border 

security perimeter for NASA.

The EIB project, led by 

Carlton Foster at LaRC, will 

implement and transition 

users to an Agency-wide, 

Enterprise managed network 

access control (NAC) solution 

that automatically places 

endpoints into network zones 

based on NASA’s established 

authentication and authorization 

policies. EIB-NAC Project 

will enhance NASA’s internal 

network security by deploying 

a common security zone 

architecture across the NASA 

enterprise and implementing 

a common Agency policy for 

network access. Common 

policies will be enforced for 

guest wireless network access, 

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) 

access, and NASA wired and 

wireless intranet access. EIBNAC will also standardize the 

end-user experience in terms 

of connectivity to network 

resources across the Agency. 

Deployment of this capability will 

provide compliance to the NASA 

Administrator’s commitments 

to the National Academy of 

Public Administration (NAPA) 

Panel on Independent Review 

of NASA’s Foreign National 

Access Management, since NAC 

will be able to identify foreign 

nationals and place these users 

onto a network commensurate 

with their security credentials.

Enterprise Service Desk 

(ESD)

Enterprise Service Request 

System (ESRS) Status Update

Effective Feb. 8, Paul Rydeen 

took over as the new Project 

10 www.nasa.gov
Executive for the Order-toPay project. Paul will continue 

to manage the ESD and also 

the ServiceNow Migration 

project. The Order-to-Pay 

project is currently 50% 

complete with SIT1 Testing 

with good participation from 

Centers. The project schedule 

has been updated to show 

a go-live date of June 1.

ServiceNow Migration 

Project Status Update

The NSSC has completed 

formal discovery meetings 

with NSSC functional areas 

while developing user stories 

for all functional areas. While 

in the Backlog Grooming 

Phase, developers and testers 

are collaborating with the 

Business Analysts and SMEs 

on Technical design and story 

sizing. The Backlog Grooming 

Phase is essential in order for 

the Scrum Teams to facilitate 

effective release planning, 

sprint planning, and sprint 

review activities that will run 

through summer. Expect 

multiple releases across all 

Lines of Business in 2015.

Enterprise Applications 

Service Office/NASA 

Enterprise Applications 

Competency Center 

(EASO/NEACC)

Business Intelligence is 

developing an implementation 

plan and approach for 

SAP HANA. They met 

with representatives from 

John Hopkins to discuss 

their experiences with SAP 

Web Intelligence (WEBI). 

Additionally, they are 

conducting Proof of CONCEPT 

(POC) for Design Studio, WEBI, 

and Crystal to determine their 

strengths and weakness in 

order to position the products 

correctly and to align with 

SAP’s long term direction.

The NASA Center for Internal 

Mobile Applications (CIMA) is 

working with several centers 

on apps that will ultimately 

be hosted by apps@NASA.

The Procurement LOB 

reported that Compusearch 

has identified June 8, 2015 

as the target delivery date of 

PRISM 7.1 SP11 which should 

resolve, pending testing, the 

IE11 compatibility issue and 

POODLE vulnerability. The 

earliest this SP could be applied 

in production will be October 

2015. Numerous issues exist 

with the PRISM 7.2 product 

including poor performance, 

funding screen failures, and 

data population on Forms.

Additional beta testing was 

performed on USASpending’s 

new website for Federalwide reporting of Contracts/

Grants/Loans/Other Federal 

Assistance. The Education LOB 

is working the statement of work 

for the final EAST task order 

modification and identifying 

elements of the strategic plan 

to be delivered. The Financial/

ACTS Line of Business (LOB) 

reported that User Acceptance 

Testing is underway of 

the enhanced e-Invoicing 

functionality. The Invoice 

Reconciliation Information 

System (IRIS) functionality is 

targeted for release in mid-April. 

The Product Lifecycle 

Management / Product 

Data Management (PLM) 

LOB migrated its Integrated 

Collaborative Environment 

(ICE) suite of tools to the new 

Agency authentication Access 

Manager 3.0 infrastructure.

Web Services (Web 

Enterprise Systems 

and Technology, or 

WESTPrime)

WESTPrime Face-to-Face 

Meetings: The WESTPrime 

team and the Web Services 

Office conducted 2 Road 

Show presentations and 

Q&A sessions profiling the 

WESTPrime program and 

offerings. The first was at 

Stennis Space Center and 

the second at Kennedy 

Space Center as part of the 

Web Services Board F2F.

NASA Image and Video 

Library (project name - 

AVAIL): The development of 

Images.nasa.gov is moving 

along and is still on schedule 

to launch in July! The searchcentric, public-facing web 

application will be a one-stop 

shop for the best-of-the-best 

of NASA images, videos and 

audio clips. The ambitious 

project will leverage NASA’s 

vast multimedia library 

collections from all Centers 

and feature the latest and 

greatest NASA has to offer. 

Visitors can search, share and 

download directly from the site.

WESTPrime Awards: Shared 

Services Center (NSSC) 

honored WESTPrime security 

subcontractor MindPoint 

Group, LLC with the 2014 Small 

Business Subcontractor of the 

Year Award. MindPoint Group 

has also been announced as a 

candidate for the Agency Level 

Small Business Industry Award. 

Looking Ahead: The exciting 

NASA.gov redesign is coming 

soon. Keep an eye out for 

news on the big reveal! v 

NASA OCIO IT Talk Apr - Jun 2015 11
IT Talk

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Office of the Chief Information Officer

300 E Street, SW

Washington, DC 20546

www.nasa.gov

Open Data Incubator: 

International Space Apps 

Challenge

The Open Innovation Team, under the 

leadership of Deborah Diaz, CTO-IT, 

is pleased to announce the fourth 

annual International Space Apps 

Challenge, April 10-12. Space Apps 

is an innovation incubator program 

designed to engage global citizens 

in collaborative problem-solving 

team built around NASA’s open data. 

Data challenges are organized in 

four mission priorities, each with a 

NASA executive as the challenge 

category advocate: Lawrence Friedl 

of the Science Mission Director 

for Earth and Outer Space, Chief 

Technologist David Miller for 

Robotics, and Dr. John Allen of the 

Human Exploration and Operations 

Mission Directorate for Humans. 

This year, 135 cities will participate 

from 60 countries – spanning the 

globe from Katmandu to Cairo, 

Guatemala, New Delhi, London, 

Nordwijk and more. LaRC CTO-IT Ed 

McLarney and his team are working 

with local organizers in the Hampton, 

Virginia area to put on their first 

Space Apps event this year. The GRC 

OCIO has partnered with OHTec to 

host the Cleveland, Ohio area Space 

Apps Challenge at GRC for the first 

time. The main stage will be held 

in Manhattan for the second year. 

NASA’s Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan 

and Space Station Astronaut Cady 

Coleman will join Deborah Diaz as 

invited dignitaries in New York. 

US CTO Megan Smith will join 

on Sunday for the wrap-up 

and judging. The NYC team 

anticipates 400 participants, 

who can work on collaborative 

teams to problem-solve using 

NASA’s open data, and/or 

participate in a data festival 

that includes a maker faire, exhibit 

space, and student events.