Weeks after canceling one major satellite communications program, the Space Force took early steps in the development of another July 29, announcing contracts for five companies to showcase how their commercial designs can meet the military’s requirements
SATCOM
While the U.S. and its allies up their efforts to build out multi-orbit, multi-constellation satellite communications that are harder for an enemy to disrupt, officials noted technical and cost challenges, particularly for the user in the field.
A new RAND report shares lessons for U.S. policymakers based on how Ukrainian and Russian forces used space systems over three years of war.
In the Space Force’s push to increase its consumption of commercial satellite capabilities, satellite communications stands out as the template. The question now is how broadly the Space Force will look to leverage additional SATCOM providers.
Space Force acquisition leaders were already looking to see if they could shift some of their biggest programs to use commercial services or technology, but one of President Donald Trump's executive orders, signed April 9, that could super-charge that effort.
The Space Force took its first tentative steps last month toward leveraging commercial space providers to augment military capabilities with four small, short-term contracts to enhance space domain awareness.
Competing prototype payloads developed by Northrop Grumman and Boeing meant to demonstrate secure, jam-resistant tactical communications for the Space Force are set to launch in 2025.
The Space Force is finalizing its first contracts for the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve and plans to award them early in 2025—giving the service access to commercial satellites and other space systems in times of conflict or crisis—officials said Nov. 21.
Space Force Payload Launches Historic First By Greg Hadley ASpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., on Aug. 9, carrying a historic collaboration between the U.S. Space Force and a foreign ally—two satellites procured by...
When a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., on Aug. 9, it carried to orbit a historic collaboration between the Space Force and a foreign country—two satellites procured by Space Norway hosting USSF payloads for Arctic communications.
Today threats in space are significant. Increasingly, U.S. space capabilities are contested, as Russia and China pursue threatening capabilities to challenge what was once U.S. dominance and have become near parity.
Medium-Earth orbit—the range of space 2,000 to 35,786 kilometers above the surface mostly known as the home of GPS satellites and not much else—has been getting more and more attention from the Space Force in recent years. In its latest move, the service is eyeing ...
