Airmen with Air Force Space Command’s 45th Space Wing coordinated launch operations last week at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., for a Boeing Delta II boosting two NASA solar research satellites into orbit. According to a NASA news release, the satellites will carry out a first-ever mission to measure solar flares and wind in 3-D. Their data will help NASA and USAF scientists understand how the sun produces space weather. That understanding can lead to better protection of satellites and Earth-bound power systems against damaging solar storms. The two spacecraft, known as “Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory,” or STEREO, will conduct the mission for two years.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
