Space Force to loft 2 new ‘neighborhood watch’ sats, as leader frets launch funds

Space Force to loft 2 new ‘neighborhood watch’ sats, as leader frets launch funds
Space Force to loft 2 new ‘neighborhood watch’ sats, as leader frets launch funds

Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond said should a year-long continuing resolution come to pass, the disruption for sat launches would “ripple” for years.

Blue Origin Engine For NSSL Behind Schedule, But SecAF Kendall Isn’t Worried

Blue Origin Engine For NSSL Behind Schedule, But SecAF Kendall Isn’t Worried
Blue Origin Engine For NSSL Behind Schedule, But SecAF Kendall Isn’t Worried

“Hopefully we’ll be all right and they (ULA) won’t have any additional scheduled steps. But I think the strategy has actually been demonstrated to be a good thing,” Air Force Frank Kendall says.

How To Avoid Protests To National Security Launch Service Awards

How To Avoid Protests To National Security Launch Service Awards
How To Avoid Protests To National Security Launch Service Awards

Given the critical nature of National Security Space Launch, winners of the competition to replace the Atlas V and its Russian-made RD-180s engines should have the flexibility to adapt to unforeseen events, the self-knowledge and willingness to work closely with the Air Force, and a record of excellent performance to avoid wasteful contract award protests.…

Wynne Mulled For DepSecDef; Trumpers Reject Ayotte

Wynne Mulled For DepSecDef; Trumpers Reject Ayotte
Wynne Mulled For DepSecDef; Trumpers Reject Ayotte

WASHINGTON: A top candidate for the Pentagon’s No. 2 position is Mike Wynne, the former Air Force Secretary who has been an advisor to Donald Trump for some time. We only have one source on this and can’t identify the source in any way, so put this one in the good rumor basket. Wynne was…

SMC: ‘High Confidence’ In SpaceX, But Watching Closely

SMC: ‘High Confidence’ In SpaceX, But Watching Closely
SMC: ‘High Confidence’ In SpaceX, But Watching Closely

Although the world is awfully excited about Elon Musk’s announcement this week that he’ll be selling tickets to Mars, there are other pressing issues facing SpaceX, such as the cause of the Sept. 1 explosion that destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket and much of its launch pad. The day that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 exploded on the…

McCain Compromises On RD-180s: Are Rocket Wars Over?

McCain Compromises On RD-180s: Are Rocket Wars Over?
McCain Compromises On RD-180s: Are Rocket Wars Over?

WASHINGTON: The defense bill that passed the Senate today might just end the long and bitter wrangle over Russian rocket engines. Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain has called for an end to Pentagon purchases of the RD-180 rocket engine, charging it enriched “Putin’s cronies.” His committee unanimously passed a draft National Defense Authorization Act…

Give DoD 18 RD-180s; Alternatives Too Late, Too Costly

Give DoD 18 RD-180s; Alternatives Too Late, Too Costly
Give DoD 18 RD-180s; Alternatives Too Late, Too Costly

When the National Defense Authorization Bill comes to the Senate floor, lawmakers will face an important choice regarding the future of national security space launch. The Defense Department has relied upon United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Delta IV and Atlas V rockets — the latter powered by the Russian-built RD-180 engine. Maintaining redundant launch system capabilities —…

White House Threatens Veto Of House NDAA; OCO, RD-180 At Issue

UPDATED with SecDef, HASC, & SASC comments WASHINGTON: Last night, the White House issued a veto threat against the draft defense bill that just went to the House floor, which takes an $18 billion bite out of the Overseas Contingency Operations fund. This afternoon, Defense Secretary Ash Carter blasted both the House draft of the National Defense Authorization Act…

HASC OKs 18 RD-180s; Adds $100M For New Designs

HASC OKs 18 RD-180s; Adds $100M For New Designs
HASC OKs 18 RD-180s; Adds $100M For New Designs

WASHINGTON: The House Armed Services Committee is certainly no friend to today’s Russia as ruled by Vladimir Putin, but even they now support the Pentagon’s plans to use 18 Russian-made RD-180 rocket engines. The HASC approved by voice vote an amendment by Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado to the National Defense Authorization Act that would…

‘We Need To Hold Our Noses,’ Buy Russian RD-180 Engines: SecDef

‘We Need To Hold Our Noses,’ Buy Russian RD-180 Engines: SecDef
‘We Need To Hold Our Noses,’ Buy Russian RD-180 Engines: SecDef

WASHINGTON: Ash Carter made many reporters’ day this morning when he pithily put the case for the Pentagon to continue buying Russian RD-180 rocket engines until the United States has two tested and reliable launch providers capable of replacing the highly reliable and relatively cheap Atlas V built and operated by the United Launch Alliance. “We…

It’s ‘War’ Twixt Appropriators & Authorizers Over RD-180s: Sen. Durbin

It’s ‘War’ Twixt Appropriators & Authorizers Over RD-180s: Sen. Durbin
It’s ‘War’ Twixt Appropriators & Authorizers Over RD-180s: Sen. Durbin

CAPITOL HILL: The Senate battle over Russian rockets keeps rocking. Senators Dick Durbin and Richard Shelby sent most of this morning’s defense appropriations hearing defending the Pentagon’s plan to keep using the cheap and technologically reliable but politically toxic RD-180 until an American-made replacement is ready, sometime around 2020-2021. Durbin and Shelby denounced the effort…

It’s Preliminary: ULA Won’t Be Sanctioned

It’s Preliminary: ULA Won’t Be Sanctioned
It’s Preliminary: ULA Won’t Be Sanctioned

WASHINGTON: It’s not officially official, but the head of Pentagon acquisition, Frank Kendall, says the Treasury Department has not found any reason for sanctions to be applied against the United Launch Alliance. “The preliminary indications from Treasury (Department) are that they do not apply,” Kendall told reporters after a lunch address to the Washington Space…

McCain Intros Bill To Stop RD-180 Use; Pentagon Urges Caution

McCain Intros Bill To Stop RD-180 Use; Pentagon Urges Caution
McCain Intros Bill To Stop RD-180 Use; Pentagon Urges Caution

WASHINGTON: Sen. John McCain continued his crusade to stop the Pentagon from using Russia’s highly reliable and cheap RD-180 rocket engines to launch American military satellites during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today. The Arizona senator and the House Majority Leader, Kevin McCarthy of California, introduced a bill today designed to overturn language in…

McCain Loses To Appropriators, Threatens Russian RD-180 Ban

McCain Loses To Appropriators, Threatens Russian RD-180 Ban
McCain Loses To Appropriators, Threatens Russian RD-180 Ban

WASHINGTON: John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, believes fervently in the importance of the authorizing committees, those bodies charged with making congressional policy and placing restrictions on weapons program spending. Today, McCain lost a battle against the appropriators, that small group of powerful legislative leaders who decide how much money the executive branch…