United Launch Alliance and SpaceX will continue in the Space Force’s National Security Space Launch program. Challengers Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin were left to hope for future military launch wins in subsequent competitions. ULA will provide the rockets for 60 percent of Space Force ...
The U.S. Space Force's Space and Missile Systems Center is on schedule to launch a top secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office on July 15, marking the new service's first launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The National Reconnaissance Office Launch-129 (NROL-129) ...
Gen. Thomas S. Moorman Jr., who developed and led a sizable portion of the Air Force's space organizations and capabilities, died June 17 at age 79. Moorman played a “pivotal role” in Air Force and defense space, laying the foundation for Space Force, said the ...
The Space Force is hashing out how to incorporate offensive cyber operations into its future combat plans, as the new service charts a path forward for the cyber-focused Airmen who transfer in, officials said during a recently livestreamed town hall. The Space Force at first ...
A new report by RAND Corp. argues the national security space enterprise would benefit from having three launch providers offering heavy lift services over the next few years, before downsizing to two to meet the Space Force’s long-term needs. RAND believes that as the United ...
The National Reconnaissance Office and U.S. Space Command are still shaping a new concept of operations to settle the question of who should defend the various pieces of the military space enterprise, the NRO’s deputy director said during an April 24 Mitchell Institute for Aerospace ...
Russia again flexed its muscle in space by testing a direct-ascent anti-satellite weapon on April 15, drawing criticism from U.S. Space Command. “Russia’s DA-ASAT test provides yet another example that the threats to U.S. and allied space systems are real, serious, and growing,” SPACECOM boss ...
President Donald Trump on Dec. 20 established the US Space Force as America’s sixth military service, one of the most significant changes in Air Force history and a milestone in America’s exploration and militarization of the cosmos. The Space Force is the Pentagon’s first branch ...
Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center boss Lt. Gen. John Thompson appeared optimistic about the future of acquisition under the Space Force, despite industry's concerns about changes foreshadowed in the draft fiscal 2020 defense policy bill. Bipartisan, bicameral language would create a space acquisition ...
A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying a critical payload for the National Reconnaissance Office denoted NROL-71 lifted off from Space Launch Complex-6 on Jan. 19, 2019. ULA photo. The United Launch Alliance will receive another $1.2 billion...