Maj. Gen. Byron Hepburn, 59th Medical Wing commander at Lackland AFB, Tex., received the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal. Gen. Edward Rice, head of Air Education and Training Command, presented Hepburn with the medal—the fourth highest award for an airman—during a June 16 ceremony at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland. The medal recognized Hepburn for his “exceptional meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility” during the period of September 2008 to November 2010 when he was commander of the Air Force Medical Support Agency in Washington, D.C., and then USAF’s deputy surgeon general at JB Anacostia-Bolling, D.C. (Lackland photo caption by SSgt. Josie Walck)
SDA’s Next Phase of Data Transport Satellites on Hold
June 30, 2025
The long-term future of one of the Space Development Agency’s two satellite constellations is on hold as officials study the options for replacing a planned “data transport layer” with one or more commercial solutions. President Trump’s proposed 2026 defense budget...