The Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles AFB, Calif., has issued a final request for proposals for the Transformational Satellite Communications System space segment. The contract could be worth up to $15 billion. Teams led by Boeing and Lockheed Martin have been vying for TSAT, both successfully completing system design reviews earlier this year. The Air Force expects to launch the first TSAT spacecraft in 2016. Congress withheld some TSAT funding last year, but they seem inclined this year to support the Administration request.
The Department of the Air Force is giving Airman and Guardians until the end of the year to meet new requirements for ensuring they achieve a proper protective mask seal, part of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s crackdown on unauthorized facial hair.