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 ...
SpaceX
The Pentagon is now taking a longer view of Beijing’s military plans and development, shifting from a near-term focus to mid-century, when China plans to be the world’s dominant superpower.
The U.S. Space Force and SpaceX successfully launched the sixth GPS III satellite into orbit Jan. 18, bolstering the crucial position, navigation, and timing constellation. The launch, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex-40, took place at 7:24 a.m. Eastern, with the satellite riding SpaceX’s ...
The effects of Russia’s 2021 anti-satellite weapon test on just one commercial satellite constellation illustrate the urgency of just one aspect of space safety. A “dominating commercial space market” is also expanding the scope of space missions to include the likes of commercial human spaceflight and ...
Establishing international norms could help protect commercial assets.
The rapid proliferation of commercial satellites is revealing increased potential for counter-satellite military operations and collateral damage. To help inform efforts to establish norms, the not-for-profit Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy studied other areas where civil and military activities converge. The study ...
A pair of Air Force units across two major commands have announced plans to purchase services from SpaceX’s Starlink constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit. The contracts come not long after service leaders praised the effectiveness of the satellite internet service in aiding Ukraine ...
Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond offered some of his early observations on the role of space activities in the war in Ukraine. After nearly a three-year pandemic hiatus, many of the world's top national security and foreign affairs officials gathered in ...
NASA, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance are all preparing to launch their next-gen rockets from Florida’s Space Coast, two of them before the year is out. One is expected to liberate the U.S. launch enterprise from its reliance on Russian-made RD-180 engines, while all three rockets ...
Drawn closer by business interests and geopolitical necessity, the military and NASA “would be remiss” not to collaborate more, said the space agency’s No. 2 political appointee. Yet as the Defense Department has committed billions in weapons toward a Russian defeat in Ukraine, NASA Deputy ...
Guardians and Airmen innovate and renovate, doubling the rate of launch at Cape Canaveral.
New capabilities are required—now—to combat long- range precision missiles being tested by adversaries. The Department of the Air Force is rolling out plans to beef up missile warning and tracking as China, North Korea, Russia, and even Iran develop, build, test, and field new long-range ...