Courtney Albon
Courtney Albon is the Space Editor at Air & Space Forces Magazine. She has been covering the U.S. military since 2012, with a focus on the Air Force and Space Force. During that time, she has reported on some of the Defense Department’s most significant acquisition, budget and policy challenges, including the F-35 fighter jet, hypersonic capability development and the creation of the Space Force.
Recent stories by Courtney Albon
Golden Dome Secrecy Poses Challenge for Estimating Costs
While Pentagon officials have revealed some details about the architecture behind the Golden Dome missile defense project, crafting an independent cost estimate for a largely classified program remains a challenge, experts said Aug. 19.
USSF to Operate Legacy Weather Sats Until at Least 2028 as It Works on Replacements
The Space Force will maintain its aging weather satellite fleet—which provides key forecasting data for military planners—until at least 2028 as it transitions to a new replacement architecture.
Space Force Adds 5 New Vendors to Space Data Network Project
The Space Force announced five new contract awards for its Space Data Network, broadening the vendor base for the proliferated data transport constellation.
SPACECOM Wants to Proliferate Ground Stations—and Counter Adversary Proliferation
The head of U.S. Space Command said Aug. 12 that operations in Iran have shown just how vulnerable ground-based space assets—particularly missile defense systems—are to attack and called for a more resilient, mobile architecture.
Space Command to Host Live-Fly Advanced Maneuver Exercise
U.S. Space Command is preparing to host a live-fly exercise in the coming weeks to test advanced maneuver concepts that will inform its strategy for dynamic operations in orbit.
Budget Instability Puts Golden Dome at Risk, Guetlein Warns
Space Force Gen. Michael A. Guetlein, the director of the Pentagon’s Golden Dome program, warned that without the Defense Department’s $350 billion reconciliation request, the homeland missile defense effort is in dire straits.
Senate Confirms Schiess as Next Chief of Space Operations
Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess will receive a fourth star and take the helm of the Space Force following a unanimous Aug. 6 vote, approving his nomination to become the third CSO since the service’s establishment in 2019.
Space Force Closely Watching Execution Risk as it Implements Acquisition Reforms
As the Space Force implements sweeping acquisition reforms over the next few years that will change the way it sets requirements, manages programs, and fields systems to operators, the head of its acquisition field command wants to ensure all of the change doesn’t disrupt program ...
Space Force Awards Three New Vendors for Sensing, Targeting Tech
The Space-Based Air Moving Targeting Indicator awards, announced Aug. 4, went to Rocket Lab, Systems & Technology Research, and a third firm whose name the service withheld “due to operational security.”
Private Investors Purchase Majority Stake in L3Harris’ Space Propulsion Business
AE Industrial closed its purchase of a majority stake in L3Harris’ space propulsion business and plans to re-establish it as Rocketdyne, a nod to its more than 60 years of heritage as a rocket enginemaker.
Space Force Picks 15 Firms to Build Test and Training Infrastructure
The Space Force chose 15 companies to compete to build out its advanced live and simulated test and training range.
Space Force to Launch 18 Comms and Targeting Missions by End of 2027
The Space Force awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract to conduct 18 launches for communications and targeting satellites by the end of 2027.
Space Force Eyes ‘Usable’ Airborne Target Tracking by ’28, More Capability to Follow
The Space Force expects its nascent airborne moving target indicator program will have a “usable capability” in the next few years—but the official in charge of the program says there’s more work to be done beyond that to refine the sensing, data processing, and orchestration ...
Space Force Awards Key Software Contract for Strategic SATCOM
Space Systems Command on July 27 announced a $287 million award to Sphinx Defense to develop a mission planning prototype for the Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications program’s ground segment.
Space Force Picks Rocket Lab for Suborbital Launches from Alaska
The Space Force awarded Rocket Lab $266 million to launch 12 suborbital missions over the next three years—most of them from a new launch pad in Alaska.