The Navy-led TacSat-4 experimental communications satellite program, under the Operationally Responsive Space joint office at Kirtland AFB, N.M., launches aboard a Minotaur IV+ booster from Kodiak, Alaska. TacSat-4’s planned one-year mission is to enable ground troops to remain in contact via legacy hand-held radios even when they are operating in difficult mountainous and urban terrain in Southwest Asia.
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Sept. 12, 2026
General Stephen Whiting took command of U.S. Space Command in January 2024, and if customary three-year tenures hold, his tour would end in January 2027. The question now before the President and Senate is who should follow him? Whoever they choose, it has to be a Guardian—and so should every successor…
