The Vandenberg Tracking Station is a remote tracking station, located near Santa Maria, Calif., operating within the Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN). This collection of remote tracking stations allow space operations centers (SOCs) to communicate with their space assets.Tech. Sgt. JT Armstrong)
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2025 USAF & USSF Almanac: USSF Space Systems
June 20, 2025
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Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
Shield AI has entered the increasingly crowded field of Collaborative Combat Aircraft, this week announcing its “X-BAT” vehicle that stands out from others by having both vertical takeoff and landing capability and supersonic speed.
The Space Force expects to award $905 million in contracts over the next five years through a new Maneuverable GEO program, which aims to form a commercial fleet of mobile communication satellites in geosynchronous orbit.
As the gap between U.S. and China’s space capabilities narrows, national security space experts say the Space Force and the broader Pentagon should forge stronger connections with the Intelligence Community and NASA in order to stay ahead.
Satellite manufacturer Apex announced it would launch a space-based interceptor demonstration next summer—the latest company to unveil plans to prototype technology that could contribute to the Pentagon’s Golden Dome missile defense project.
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…
The Space Force’s recent contract to Muon Space to repurpose their commercial weather satellites for military use will inform a broader “data-as-a-service” strategy for its space-based environmental monitoring mission.
The Space Development Agency added 21 satellites to its nascent data transport network in an Oct. 15 launch, the second mission in a 10-month campaign to field 154 operational spacecraft.
A new Space Force partnership with Blue Origin to expand payload processing capacity at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., will allow the launch range to support as many as 16 more missions per year.
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