Pence Defends Space Force Costs: ‘What Price Freedom?’

Pence Defends Space Force Costs: ‘What Price Freedom?’
Pence Defends Space Force Costs: ‘What Price Freedom?’

For insights about how the US military currently views the realities of space war, it’s helpful to consider the recently concluded annual Schriever War Game.

Space Force & Command To Cost $13B For First Five Years: SecAF Memo

Space Force & Command To Cost $13B For First Five Years: SecAF Memo
Space Force & Command To Cost $13B For First Five Years: SecAF Memo

The scope of the Space Force appears to be growing, with a new Air Force memo spelling out all of the offices that will fall under the proposed new command.

Pence: ‘We Must Have American Dominance In Space’

Pence: ‘We Must Have American Dominance In Space’
Pence: ‘We Must Have American Dominance In Space’

The “separate but equal” sixth service (don’t forget the Coast Guard) will be created in stages, because, as Pence finally admitted publicly, it “requires Congressional action.” And, as the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Paul Selva, admitted today, if Congress passed the relevant laws in a year that would “unprecedented.”

Space Force: Go Slow, Learn From Army Air Corps

Space Force: Go Slow, Learn From Army Air Corps
Space Force: Go Slow, Learn From Army Air Corps

The stakes are high for President Trump’s nascent Space Force because a poorly integrated service is a price America cannot afford to pay. This means a careful, thoughtful, conditions-based approach must be followed to assess if and when an autonomous military space organization will provide the best path forward. All four services will contribute to…

Trump Orders New Space Service; Will Congress Agree?

Trump Orders New Space Service; Will Congress Agree?
Trump Orders New Space Service; Will Congress Agree?

We’ve already got soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines and Coasties. If President Trump gets what he wants, we may now have spacemen — but the Senate may say no.

Why Chairman Thornberry Failed To Tame DoD’s Fourth Estate

Why Chairman Thornberry Failed To Tame DoD’s Fourth Estate
Why Chairman Thornberry Failed To Tame DoD’s Fourth Estate

When House Armed Services Chairman Thornberry proposed eliminating seven agencies and reducing personnel by 25 percent, he faced strong opposition. In the HASC’s draft bill, he scaled the proposal back to eliminating just three agencies. But that didn’t work either. During the committee’s markup of the House defense policy bill, members still pushed back.

Space Architect Is Back! As Wilson Unveils Space Reforms

Space Architect Is Back! As Wilson Unveils Space Reforms
Space Architect Is Back! As Wilson Unveils Space Reforms

It’s one of the coolest titles in the US military — space architect! Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson announced Tuesday night there will again be a space architect, known as the Chief Architect.

Air Force Teams With NRO For Secret SSA Bird

Air Force Teams With NRO For Secret SSA Bird
Air Force Teams With NRO For Secret SSA Bird

After years of missed deadlines, cost overruns and underperformance the Air Force has split the requirements for the troubled Joint Mission System program’s Increment 3, dividing them between the Coalition Space Operations Center and the National Space Defense Center. In a separate but apparently related action, the Air Force has also partnered with the nation’s spy satellite builder to create a new Space Situational Awareness satellite.

ODNI Shifts Reponsibilities As 90% Of IC Programs Hit Green

ODNI Shifts Reponsibilities As 90% Of IC Programs Hit Green
ODNI Shifts Reponsibilities As 90% Of IC Programs Hit Green

INSA HQ: Drive milestone decision authority down as low as is possible. Speed decision-making. Let the Intelligence Community agencies create simple and clear requirements and manage their programs, as long as everything goes along swimmingly. That outlines the changes to acquisition that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence plans to make over the…

Space Acquisition Fixes Will ‘Blow Your Socks Off;’ More On KC-46: SecAF Wilson

Space Acquisition Fixes Will ‘Blow Your Socks Off;’ More On KC-46: SecAF Wilson
Space Acquisition Fixes Will ‘Blow Your Socks Off;’ More On KC-46: SecAF Wilson

There will be organizational alterations, changes to “the way we are doing business” and, perhaps most importantly, Wilson said there will be “cultural change.” They will also try to prioritize what “our go-fast projects are.”

All Systems Were GO! SpaceX’s Big Falcon Heavy

All Systems Were GO! SpaceX’s Big Falcon Heavy
All Systems Were GO! SpaceX’s Big Falcon Heavy

WASHINGTON: No lives were on the line. It wasn’t lofting a billion dollar spy satellite. But the SpaceX Falcon Heavy test launch demonstrated today that the world’s largest rocket system worked largely as planned. And, as one observer noted, the entire system was built for commercial reasons alone; no government agency crafted a requirement saying…

SMC Issues Final RFP For Five EELV Launches; SBIRS & 4 Classified Payloads

SMC Issues Final RFP For Five EELV Launches; SBIRS & 4 Classified Payloads
SMC Issues Final RFP For Five EELV Launches; SBIRS & 4 Classified Payloads

CLARIFIED: Adds SMC Comment On Launch Providers WASHINGTON: Last night the Air Force released the final Request For Proposals for five launch contracts for NRO and Air Force Space Command. The most intriguing payload is a code-word program, shared by the NRO and Air Force Space Command, known as SILENTBARKER, which has been described as…

Zuma: A New Twist On Space Radar?

Zuma: A New Twist On Space Radar?
Zuma: A New Twist On Space Radar?

WASHINGTON: Before we go any further, this story is based on direct observations of what was believed to be the so-called Zuma satellite, as well as a lot of spookily sourced information, most of it from a single source who shall not be identified. First, nobody who doesn’t have extremely high clearance really knows if…

CSIS On The Second Space Age: ‘Diverse, Disruptive, Disordered And Dangerous’

CSIS On The Second Space Age: ‘Diverse, Disruptive, Disordered And Dangerous’
CSIS On The Second Space Age: ‘Diverse, Disruptive, Disordered And Dangerous’

WASHINGTON: We knew space was congested, contested and all that. But the folks at CSIS have recast that to good effect in a report actually worth reading in detail. The Second Space Age (yes, they’ve come up with a catchy rubric!) is, they say, more diverse, disruptive, disordered, and dangerous than the first space age.” How…