The Pentagon’s National Security Space Office has released a six-month study that concludes the US could use space-based solar power as an “inexhaustible supply of clean energy,” reports Brian Berger of Space.com (article via USA Today). The report recommends that the US fund in-depth studies and technology demonstrations to prove the viability of space-based solar power. The power could also supply forward bases, eliminating the need to convoy in fossil fuels. However, a NSSO spokesman said he thought it unlikely that the Pentagon would fund the technology; he believes it more rightly belongs with NASA or the Department of Energy.
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.