So said Air Force Space Command boss Gen. Robert Kehler during a Capitol Hill breakfast seminar July 14. Kehler called the Space-Based Space Surveillance “a very expensive and important satellite” that will provide a much-needed boost to USAF’s space monitoring capability. The spacecraft itself passed final checkout by the Boeing-Bell contractor team earlier this year, but there was a problem identified with the Minotaur launch vehicle. Kehler said technicians “understand what the issue is” so “we all have confidence” the problems will be resolved in time for a launch this fall. As for a follow on, the situation is still fluid between a clone or a successor block capability, but Kehler said AFSPC has given requirements to the Space and Missile Systems Center.
The Pentagon abruptly relieved Air Force Gen. Timothy D. Haugh, head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, and his NSA civilian deputy, Wendy Noble, on April 3.