The Space Force aims to boost its National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program from 12 launches in fiscal 2023 to 21 missions in 2024, with United Launch Alliance (ULA) responsible for 11 missions and SpaceX handling 10.
The Space Force is bolstering its satellite network—and its ties to SpaceX—with a $70 million contract for the company’s new Starshield service. Starshield, often described as a government equivalent to SpaceX’s Starlink network, is made up of satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO) and will provide ...
Nearly five months after the Space Development Agency celebrated the first launch of its massive planned satellite constellation in low-Earth orbit, the organization is set for their second go-around Aug. 31. Thirteen satellites from Tranche 0 of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture are slated to head ...
As governments become more reliant on information provided by commercial space assets, the line between military and civilian targets will become increasingly blurred in future conflicts, three former Air Force space operators-turned commercial space executives said a panel discussion hosted by the Hudson Institute July ...
If all goes well, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will lift off at 7:29 a.m. Pacific time from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., on March 30, carrying the first pieces of the Space Force’s planned constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites. Two and a half years after ...
The Space Force is opening up its competition for rocket launches with a “dual-lane approach,” according to a new draft request for proposals (RFP) from industry—potentially giving smaller companies more opportunities. Late Feb. 16, the service released the draft RFP and announced it would be hosting ...
The U.S. Space Force and SpaceX successfully launched the sixth GPS III satellite into orbit Jan. 18, bolstering the crucial position, navigation, and timing constellation. The launch, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex-40, took place at 7:24 a.m. Eastern, with the satellite riding SpaceX’s ...
The effects of Russia’s 2021 anti-satellite weapon test on just one commercial satellite constellation illustrate the urgency of just one aspect of space safety. A “dominating commercial space market” is also expanding the scope of space missions to include the likes of commercial human spaceflight and ...
The rapid proliferation of commercial satellites is revealing increased potential for counter-satellite military operations and collateral damage. To help inform efforts to establish norms, the not-for-profit Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy studied other areas where civil and military activities converge. The study ...
A pair of Air Force units across two major commands have announced plans to purchase services from SpaceX’s Starlink constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit. The contracts come not long after service leaders praised the effectiveness of the satellite internet service in aiding Ukraine ...
Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond offered some of his early observations on the role of space activities in the war in Ukraine. After nearly a three-year pandemic hiatus, many of the world's top national security and foreign affairs officials gathered in ...
NASA, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance are all preparing to launch their next-gen rockets from Florida’s Space Coast, two of them before the year is out. One is expected to liberate the U.S. launch enterprise from its reliance on Russian-made RD-180 engines, while all three rockets ...