The Air Force wants to continue its radar lookout post on the remote island of Shemya, Alaska. In April, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Strategic Warning and Surveillance Systems Division released a request for proposal to continue operations of the Cobra Dane radar system. The $511 million contract covers operation, maintenance, support, and sustainment of the site for seven years, according to a May 16 Air Force Space Command release. The Air Force expects to award a contract late this year. The Cobra Dane system detects and classifies objects for US Strategic Command’s ballistic missile defense, along with tracking objects in Low-Earth Orbit.
The successful second flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket on Nov. 13 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., also included a first for the company—the launcher’s booster stuck its landing on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean.
