DIU, Space Force team up to kick-start buys of commercial sats for monitoring GEO
Both firms are working under earlier Pentagon contracts to demonstrate rendezvous and proximity operators that could also support future orbital warfare.
Space Force boosts contract ceiling for Andromeda space monitoring sats to $6.2B
The Andromeda IDIQ contract vehicle will fund a replacement for the current GSSAP on-orbit inspection satellites as well as the classified SILENTBARKER space surveillance birds.
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In the age of drones, a bigger fence around your facility doesn’t protect you anymore
Traditional thinking about how to protect facilities must adapt to new threats such as drones or downstream attacks.
Space Force slates $1.8B for commercial sats to replace GSSAP neighborhood watch birds
The service has tapped 14 firms to compete for rolling task orders through April 2036 under the Andromeda program, formerly known as RG-XX.
Space Force pauses national security launches on Vulcan
"We're still in the initial phases of that investigation, so we'll continue to to work with the United Launch Alliance and their suppliers to make sure we've got the right level of insight and understand where that investigation is headed," Col. Eric Zarybnisky said.
DIU wants commercially developed imagery satellites for on-orbit spying
Under the new GHOST-R effort, the Defense Innovation Unit hopes to have a high-resolution bird operating on orbit within 24 months.
Space Force envisions rolling awards for new RG-XX neighborhood watch satellites
Space Systems Command intends to issue task orders to qualified vendors annually based on funding and operational needs, said Col. Byron McClain, SSC program executive officer for Space Combat Power.
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Space Force will not partner with NRO for next-generation surveillance satellites
Interested firms have until Jan. 9 to respond to a Space Force request for information about new wide-field-of-view cameras for a SILENTBARKER replacement constellation.
Space Force will own next-gen neighborhood watch sats, based on commercial tech
Space Systems Command expects to issue a draft request for proposal by the end of the calendar year, a Space Force spokesperson told Breaking Defense.
Chinese sats appear to be attempting first-ever on-orbit refueling, sat tracking firms say
"While this type of close approach activity does not automatically signify a military mission, it obviously could provide a co-orbital counterspace capability," expert Victoria Samson told Breaking Defense.
Space RCO head sees potential ‘product line’ for orbital warfare satellites
Space RCO Director Kelly Hammett envisions that his shop will feed tech into the Space Force's new effort to contract commercial firms to replace the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites for monitoring the heavens.
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Space Force picks up pace of on-orbit refueling experiments
Space Systems Command is moving out with a trio of projects — contracting with Northrop Grumman for two separate experiments, and with Astroscale US for the first on-orbit refueling operation involving a military satellite.
Space Systems Command reviewing expensive legacy programs for possible commercial shift
The idea behind the commercial reviews is to find potential alternatives for "getting us out of one-off, billion-dollar systems into a proliferated architecture," said Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy.
Space Safari, DIU to select Victus Haze launchers within ‘weeks’
"This will be a modified mission from the Victus Nox mission," David Ryan, space portfolio manager at the Defense Innovation Unit said, noting that "there are two parts of the mission, and DIU is working on a single part with Space Safari."
EXCLUSIVE: Freedom to maneuver key for future space ‘combat mindset,’ says ex-SPACECOM deputy
"In a sense, we drive our satellites today as if we're going to church. Our adversaries drive their satellites as if they're going to combat," Lt. Gen. John Shaw, who recently retired from US Space Command, told Breaking Defense in this Q&A.