The Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center released a final request for proposal Monday for the development of rideshare payload adapters to be used with its Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. The Long Duration Propulsive EELV Secondary Payload Adapters, or LDPE, will build on secondary payload adapter technology already developed by the Space Vehicles Directorate at the Air Force Research Laboratory and will enable Air Force space vehicles to host additional payloads on launch missions, as required by Air Force Space Command policy. The LDPE program will be “a competitively bid acquisition for an EELV-compatible payload adapter with power, attitude control, and propulsive capabilities,” according to an SMC press release.
When the Space Force discusses the cyber threats faced by the service or the commercial satellite providers it uses, it typically frames the issue as a nation-state one. But for cyber defenders in the commercial space sector responsible for day-to-day operations, the reality is rather different: Like other providers of…
