Firefly is already on contract and will “support a responsive on-orbit mission for the NRO” using the Alpha small launcher and its Elytra on-orbit vehicle for hosting payloads.
By Theresa Hitchens“This mission highlights significant progress towards meeting emerging challenges in space,” said Lt. Col. MacKenzie Birchenough, materiel leader for SSC’s Space Safari office.
By Theresa HitchensThe program, called Victus Haze, builds on the on-going Space Systems Command Victus Nox mission to rapidly launch a prototype satellite for keeping tabs on objects in low Earth orbit.
By Theresa HitchensResponsive launch is enabled by the fact that Draper’s hydrogen peroxide fuel is easily storable, Ursa Major CEO Joe Laurienti told Breaking Defense, which cuts down prelaunch logistics — whereas other highly toxic liquid fuels often used to provide the high thrust needed for a missile to reach hypersonic speeds (Mach 5 and above) require special handling.
By Theresa Hitchens“Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 is designed to serve the responsive space needs of commercial, civil, defense, and national security customers, supporting up to 12 missions per year,” the company said.
By Theresa Hitchens“Those of us who follow the space industry closely understand the autonomous flight termination is a key component of the range of the future. In fact, for DoD missions, autonomous flight termination is a mandate by 2025,” said NASA’s David Pierce.
By Theresa HitchensPeter Beck, the firm’s CEO, has big plans to follow the first launch from his new US facility.
By Tim Fish“We have spent a lot of time admiring the problem of how to be responsive in space,” SSC head Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein said. “We are done admiring the problem and we are getting after the combatant commands’ need to truly protect and defend the peaceful use of space.”
By Theresa HitchensThe Senate version of the 2022 defense appropriations bill also includes $50 million, a House aide explained, but the House version only includes $5 million.
By Theresa HitchensSo-called ‘responsive launch,’ the ability to launch practically on demand, has been a Holy Grail for the Pentagon for more than a decade with arguably not much real-world progress.
By Theresa Hitchens“Upfront investments are necessary to break the vicious cycle in which current DOD high-value assets are stuck” to increase space resiliency, the Aerospace Corp. study argues.
By Theresa HitchensABL’s planned timeline would see the vehicle integration of the RS-1 this quarter, with a test launch in the third quarter of this year and the first commercial launch sometime after the end of the year.
By Theresa HitchensULA CEO Tony Bruno says he “would not be surprised” if the Air Force National Security Space Launch Phase 3 competition includes a requirement for responsive launch.
By Theresa HitchensWASHINGTON: The Navy wants the Army’s help win a future Multi-Domain Battle with China, a senior defense official told me last week, but to get it, the two services have to connect through a simple, robust network using small and rapidly-launched satellites. We don’t need massive bandwidth to handle video teleconferences, full motion video from drones,…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.