The Small Diameter Bomb, a satellite-guided, 250-pound class munition, passes its first live weapons tests. Carried aboard an F-15E Strike Eagle at 15,000 feet, the SDB successfully strikes a scoring board at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. Two days later, in its second test, the SDB destroys a Russian rocket launcher.
Space Systems Command has awarded a massive $2.29 billion contract to SpaceX for the “backbone” of its new Space Data Network, a constellation of satellites in low-Earth orbit that will provide connectivity for the entire joint force.