The COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions moved much of the Space and Missile Systems Center’s work online, but the Space Force still met major milestones on new systems virtually. In recent weeks, the GPS III Follow-on finished its critical design review campaign virtually and on ...
New legislation further establishes the Space Force as the sixth branch of the military, but wants a closer look at who will do that work and where. The Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the fiscal 2021 defense policy bill, approved June 10, would temporarily ...
As the SpaceX Crew Dragon rocketed into orbit carrying American astronauts on May 30, a team of USAF aircraft circled the airspace to ensure it was safe and rescue crews stood alert in case the mission did not go safely. “We all recognized the historical ...
A top space operations official outlined how America’s foray into commercial space travel could shape the military’s work, on the heels of SpaceX’s successful Crew Dragon launch to the International Space Station on May 30. NASA and SpaceX launched two astronauts into orbit from U.S. ...
Some space watchers say NASA’s return to launching astronauts from U.S. soil this week could shape the far future of military manned spaceflight, though others say the new Space Force doesn’t need to aim for “boots on the Moon.” SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft will carry ...
Virgin Orbit subsidiary VOX Space will launch dozens of small satellites into space for the Space Force’s Orbital Services Program-4, under a $35 million contract announced April 10. For OSP-4’s first round of launches, dubbed Space Test Program-S28, VOX Space will deliver 44 satellites to ...
Florida’s 45th Space Wing is aiming to keep as much regular order as possible as the coronavirus pandemic unfolds, reviewing launch plans and hoping the virus remains at bay. Patrick Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aim to execute 49 military and ...
The 45th Space Operations Group's Detachment 3 is training to rescue a new generation of astronauts as the U.S. returns to manned space launch. But the niche organization is small and can feel misunderstood in the vast Pentagon bureaucracy, even as it takes on new ...
Weather experts at Florida's Space Coast will feel the pinch of an increasingly crowded launch schedule as higher demand requires more forecasting services. Employees of the Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron include civilian launch weather officers who are tasked to work with a particular launch ...
Air Mobility Command's gray tail airlifters and tankers will participate in a series of Joint All-Domain Command and Control experiments this year. The efforts, part of the series of Advanced Battle Management System experiments and other exercises, aim to show how aircraft such as C-17s ...
Step aside, fighter jets: Autonomous drones and manned spaceflight are the future of military aerospace, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 28. Musk, the serial entrepreneur and billionaire whose rockets take Pentagon sensors and satellites to space, ...
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla.—The Space Force’s 45th Space Wing here is gearing up for a hectic 2020 schedule that could entail launching at least one rocket a week almost all year. Until recently, the wing’s “Drive to 48” slogan focused on becoming able to ...