The Space Force is planning improvements at its launch ranges to better accommodate the logistics and infrastructure demands that come with the launch industry’s shift toward reusable rockets, according to the commanders of the service’s two launch deltas.
National Security Space Launch
The successful second flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket on Nov. 13 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., also included a first for the company—the launcher’s booster stuck its landing on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean.
The second launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, which could clear a path to military certification, is delayed due to severe solar storms.
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.
The Space Force issued contracts to SpaceX and United Launch Alliance worth more than $1 billion to launch military space missions starting in fiscal 2027.
Space Force Reinvents Part Time: Not Your Dad’s Guard & Reserve By Greg Hadley The Space Force revealed new details about its plan for part-time Guardians—and they aren’t like anything the military has seen before. Part-time service will be episodic, lasting...
The Space Force’s X-37 is ready to return to orbit. The secretive spaceplane is set to blast off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., at around 11:50 p.m. local time on Aug. 21.
The Space Force awarded three contracts for rocket launches worth up to a combined $13.68 billion on April 4—and the usual players SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have got some competition in the form of newcomer Blue Origin.
The Space Force is adding two new competitors to its top launch program, giving the service an unprecedented number of options for putting satellites into orbit. Rocket Lab and Stoke Space have both been accepted into “Phase 3 Lane 1” of the National Security Space ...
The Space Force has certified United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket for its most important national security launches—clearing the way for a series of missions this year and giving SpaceX a little competition.
At the most fundamental level, this requires the Space Force to have assured access to space. The Space Force must retain a diverse stable of launch providers, while expanding options for launch locations.
SpaceX secured orders for Phase 3 launches under the National Security Space Launch program, the first provider to do so, even as the Space Force continues its push to increase its launch options.
