The Pentagon awarded Lockheed Martin Space up to $4.9 billion for three geosynchronous Earth-orbiting space vehicles, plus ground mission software, as part of the Overhead Persistent Infrared next-generation space-based missile warning systems. OPIR will eventually include the three GEO satellites from Lockheed, along with two ...
Space
SpaceX will carry data-transport and missile-tracking satellites to orbit for the Space Development Agency, the Pentagon said Dec. 31. SpaceX won a $150.5 million contract for two launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., starting in September 2022. The entire constellation of up to 28 ...
Congress voted to enact a $741 billion defense policy bill over the objections of President Donald J. Trump, who vetoed the long-running annual legislation on Dec. 23. The Senate overrode Trump’s veto 81-13 on New Year’s Day, following the House’s 322-87 vote on Dec. 28. ...
Change is coming to make the Department of the Air Force a more diverse, equitable place—but it won't happen overnight, the four-star generals in charge of the Air Force and Space Force said in a Dec. 22 town hall on racism and discrimination. “Shame on ...
When the revived U.S. Space Command got up and running more than one year ago, Pentagon leaders faced the question: They knew they needed the group again, but how would it work? The organization, which manages operations of the satellites, radars, and other support systems ...
Space Force members will be known as “Guardians” from now on, Vice President Michael R. Pence announced Dec. 18. “Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Guardians will be defending our nation for generations to come,” he said at a Dec. 18 White House ceremony celebrating the ...
The Air Force’s science advisers say the service needs to make its approach to cutting-edge “Vanguard” programs more concrete and repeatable—and to ditch them when things don’t work out. USAF leaders asked the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board to grade how the Vanguard concept is ...
Nearly two years after he was named as the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System czar, Preston Dunlap is offering more details on how the lofty concept could become a reality that’s here to stay. He began the job of chief architect with a wide-ranging ...
U.S. Space Command said Dec. 16 that Russia has again tested a direct-ascent anti-satellite missile in a violation of space security norms. “Russia publicly claims it is working to prevent the transformation of outer space into a battlefield, yet at the same time Moscow continues ...