Nearly five months after the Space Development Agency celebrated the first launch of its massive planned satellite constellation in low-Earth orbit, the organization is set for their second go-around Aug. 31. Thirteen satellites from Tranche 0 of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture are slated to head ...
The Space Force is expanding its effort to be able to launch a satellite into orbit on a moment’s notice, with help from the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit. The two organizations put out a solicitation to industry Aug. 24 for its next “tactically responsive space” mission, ...
The Space Force is opening up its competition for rocket launches with a “dual-lane approach,” according to a new draft request for proposals (RFP) from industry—potentially giving smaller companies more opportunities. Late Feb. 16, the service released the draft RFP and announced it would be hosting ...
For years, Congress has pushed the Air Force, and the Space Force after it, to increase competition within its space launch enterprise, to move beyond the one or two companies the military has long relied on to send its satellites into orbit. And now that ...
The commander of Space Launch Delta 30 envisions Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., as a “national spaceport” and said the launch delta is trying to figure out how to make that dream a reality. Vandenberg has plenty of room to grow, and the convenience of ...
The National Reconnaissance Office is further integrating with the Space Force and U.S. Space Command while also innovating faster to keep up with the threat posed by adversaries in space, NRO leaders said at Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo. NRO Director Chris Scolese said ...
As the Defense Department works more closely with the commercial space industry for quicker, cheaper, and easier launches, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, is working with industry, academia, and government to increase the ability of these organizations to launch from the base. Vandenberg will establish ...
SpaceX will carry data-transport and missile-tracking satellites to orbit for the Space Development Agency, the Pentagon said Dec. 31. SpaceX won a $150.5 million contract for two launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., starting in September 2022. The entire constellation of up to 28 ...
The Space Force is thinking ahead to what it might need from rocket providers at the end of the decade, as it plans for the next phase of the National Security Space Launch program. The service released a request for information on Nov. 10 to ...
United Launch Alliance Chief Executive Officer Tory Bruno has made a career out of building rockets that carry heavy objects across long distances. But 50 years in the future, as the U.S. returns to the moon and pushes beyond, he expects a new approach to ...
It’s that time of year when Congress rolls out its lists of the data, requirements, and strategies it wants to see from the Defense Department. The House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee’s piece of the fiscal 2021 defense policy bill is no different. Here’s what ...
As the SpaceX Crew Dragon rocketed into orbit carrying American astronauts on May 30, a team of USAF aircraft circled the airspace to ensure it was safe and rescue crews stood alert in case the mission did not go safely. “We all recognized the historical ...