Fresh off a rebuff, of sorts, over its bid to claim executive agent status for higher flying unmanned aerial vehicles, the Air Force reportedly is seeking to lasso development, acquisition, and operational control over future military and national security satellite programs. Andy Pasztor of the Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that Lt. Gen. Michael Hamel, boss of Space and Missile Systems Center, told an industry conference in Los Angeles this week that USAF wants to curtail “fractious infighting” and develop a “more coherent framework.” The Air Force has yet to present the plan to Pentagon leadership or Congress, but he told Pasztor that there is some lawmaker support for fencing military space programs to prevent funds encroachment. He sees the USAF push for unified control as building on that.
The Space Force is switching up rockets for its next GPS mission—and trying to go faster than ever in preparing the satellite for launch. The goal is to take the satellite bus from storage to orbit in around three months, well ahead of the 24 months it can sometimes take the…