The Space Force is finalizing its first contracts for the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve and plans to award them early in 2025—giving the service access to commercial satellites and other space systems in times of conflict or crisis—officials said Nov. 21.
When a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., on Aug. 9, it carried to orbit a historic collaboration between the Space Force and a foreign country—two satellites procured by Space Norway hosting USSF payloads for Arctic communications.
Medium-Earth orbit—the range of space 2,000 to 35,786 kilometers above the surface mostly known as the home of GPS satellites and not much else—has been getting more and more attention from the Space Force in recent years. In its latest move, the service is eyeing ...
The Space Force is working on a “hybrid” satellite communications terminal that can use multiple frequencies to connect warfighters with military and commercial constellations alike across orbits. But key lawmakers are concerned the effort is too focused on just the Department of the Air Force and ...
The Space Force is ready to integrate commercial satellites and systems into a broad range of missions, starting with satellite communications and space domain awareness, according to the service’s newly released Commercial Space Strategy. The strategy, unveiled April 10 after months of waiting, reaffirms what the Pentagon’s ...
News last fall that SpaceX owner and CEO Elon Musk restricted the Ukrainian military’s use of his Starlink satellite broadband service to stymie an attack on Russian forces highlighted the extraordinary power wielded in that war by a single business owner with some outlandish ideas. But ...
Occupying terrain is a fundamental principle of warfare, even if that terrain is the electromagnetic spectrum and mostly invisible to the naked eye. That’s where the Space Force’s 527th Space Aggressor Squadron teaches a wide range of military units how to hold their “ground.”
The Space Force budget could be headed for its first ever dip in fiscal year 2025, as the service unveiled a $29.4 billion request March 11, a 2 percent drop compared to its 2024 budget request. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and other leaders highlighted ...
The Space Force awarded Boeing’s space division a $439 million contract to build and launch the next installment of its Wideband Global Satellite Communications (WGS) fleet. Expected to finish by Jan. 31, 2029, the WGS-12 satellite is part of an effort to provide better communications ...
The Space Force assumed official control of the Joint Tactical Ground Station (JTAGS) missile warning system from the Army on Oct. 1, one of the final milestones in the Space Force’s consolidation of many space missions across the services.
The importance of cybersecurity aboard military/government aircraft grows with every passing day. The combination of complex onboard computer systems, two-way connectivity to ground controllers via radio/SATCOM, and integration with defense IT networks makes them prime targets for hackers.
When it comes to the Defense Department’s plans for satellite communications, the Pentagon will need all different kinds of space architectures, two top Pentagon officials said during a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies webcast Jan. 7. David Voss, director of the Spectrum Warfare Center of ...