The Air Force is still working on its independent assessment of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket explosion, and could still disqualify SpaceX from National Security Space launches—but there is no indication it should, the commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center said Friday. “From 10 minutes after the incident until today, we’ve had full access” to everything SpaceX has, said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves at an AFA Mitchell Institute breakfast on Capitol Hill. “The mishap itself did not affect the certification status” of the Falcon 9 system, he said, and though the results of the investigation could, Greaves said it is unlikely. “I see no reason—none at all—no inkling, no concern with SpaceX’s certification and I have no intent to decertify them,” he said. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 upgrade was recently certified for national security space launches, though the company is still waiting for “mission assurance return to flight” status for USAF launches.
The Pentagon has concluded a new agreement to buy laser-guidance kits that turn rockets into drone-killing weapons. BAE Systems and the Defense Department announced a framework deal of up to seven years for 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kits annually for the U.S. military.