Watchdog slams Missile Defense Agency for delivery, testing shortfalls in 2022
For the past 20 years, GAO finds, "missile threats from foreign adversaries have evolved, and MDA has faced persistent challenges as it attempts to keep pace."
Space Force ground control operators press for ‘absolutely critical’ network upgrades
From antennas that can only "talk" to one satellite at a time to much of the work in the control center being done by paper, operators told reporters on a rare tour of the ops center that they're in dire need of modernization.
Breaking Defense announces Breaking Defense Europe, a new, distinct, European edition
Breaking Defense Europe will launch May 4 with Tim Martin and Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo as co-editors.
Congressional concern re-emerges on fate of MDA’s hypersonic missile tracking sensors
"I am concerned about the transition of HBTSS from the Missile Defense Agency to the Space Development Agency. The apparent shift in strategy to deploy this capability does not reflect the urgency of the hypersonic threats we face," Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., chairman of the House Armed Service's strategic forces subcommittee, told Breaking Defense.
Space Force to hold first ‘orbital warfare’ exercise this summer
Among the exercise scenarios, Red Skies will look at how Space Force operators will handle threatening close approaches by adversary satellites.
Space Force wants commercial sat buses to carry ‘bundled’ experiments
The effort, called Space Test Experiments Platform 2.0 (STEP 2.0), aims to set up a consortium of providers who have flight-proven buses via an indefinite delivery/indefinite quality (ID/IQ) contract, Lt. Col. Jonathan Shea, STP director, said Monday.
Space Force wants key allies to join 24/7 GPS ops center
In a rare tour of the GPS ops floor, Lt. Col. Robert Wray, commander of the Space Force's 2nd Operations Squadron responsible for GPS operations, described the mission and why timing, more than anything, is critical.
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Answering the demand signal to move faster, field sooner, iterate continuously
As threats rapidly evolve, digital engineering, manufacturing capacity and robust supply chains are critical to meeting challenges.
How Space Force, NRO are sharing the ground-tracking mission, for now
"The good news about this approach is this really fits my priority of speed, speed and speed," Frank Calvelli, space acquisition czar at the Department of the Air Force, said of the plan to have NRO take the lead with Space Force oversight and some funding.
National Guard leaders petition Biden, Harris for dedicated Space Force branch
"OMB’s opposition to establishing a SNG and directive to transfer current National Guard space missions to an unestablished 'Space Component' will create a 7–10 year gap in the capabilities Air National Guard Space Units provide today," the 51 Guard adjutant generals argue in a letter to President Joe Biden.
Victus Nox: Space Force readies its 24-hour launch turnaround test
"It's challenging. It's not the status quo. We're pushing the envelope with the Space Force," Millennium CEO Jason Kim told Breaking Defense.
Space Force to implement Santa’s ‘naughty list’ of contractors for under-performance
If contractors are put on the Contractor Responsibility Watch List for failure to meet cost and schedule performance goals, the Space Force has "the ability at that point not to award them any new contracts."
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America must adopt a Sixth Domain of warfare doctrine
The Sixth Domain is not defined by geography. It’s a new kind of conflict in which autonomy and networked systems allow thousand-dollar consumer electronics to destroy multi-million-dollar conventional weapons systems.
DoD approves next step for GPI to defend against hypersonic missiles
"Industry has told us that they they think they can go faster, and we're hopeful that we can accelerate the program," said Laura DeSimone, Missile Defense Agency executive director.
Albedo catches Space Force eyes with ultra-high fidelity imagery from very low satellites
Under a new grant, the company will demonstrate to the Air Force's National Air and Space Intelligence Center its ability to take very high resolution images at night using a thermal infrared sensor.
Space Force wraps initial plan for building ‘hybrid’ commercial/military ‘outernet’
"The outernet is the internet taken to space," Col. Eric Felt, of the Department of the Air Force's space acquisition office, said today.
Commerce’s initial space safety system will lean ‘heavily’ on DoD data
DoD is working with Commerce to provide expertise on how to crunch space observational data, said Travis Langster, DoD principal director for space policy.