SDA taps Starfish for first-of-its-kind satellite disposal service
Starfish will commence with launch of the Otter vehicle in 2027, Trevor Bennett, the firm's cofounder, told Breaking Defense.
France, US practice up-close satellite maneuvers under joint space war plan
The bilateral rendezvous and proximity operation "illustrates France's ability to conduct dynamic and responsible operations to deter adversaries from acting against its space interests," according to France's Space Command.
Satellites at the center: Inside the Pentagon’s next-gen space architecture
From emerging data networks to missile tracking and cyber resilience, Breaking Defense’s latest eBook brings together essential reporting on the evolving role of satellites in national security.
SPACECOM discussing expansion of joint space monitoring missions with allies
US Space Command has now completed two rendezvous and proximity operations with partners in Multinational Forces Operation Olympic Defender: France and Britain.
Anduril, Impulse to demo maneuvering satellite, with sights set on Space Force missions
"I just think freedom of maneuver is going to be the enabler for every space mission going forward," said Gokul Subramanian, Anduril's senior vice president of engineering.
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.
Time for Space Force to ‘clearly say’ it needs ‘weapons in space’: SPACECOM head
"The US and France recently conducted our first ever bilateral rendezvous and proximity operation to demonstrate combined capabilities in space in the vicinity of a strategic competitor spacecraft," SPACECOM head Gen. Stephen Whiting said today.
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Voyager is fortifying the U.S. Defense supply chain
Answering the Pentagon’s call to bolster defense industrial base.
Counterspace capabilities advancing around the globe: Secure World Foundation
The report finds that Russia has been increasingly successful at blocking Ukraine's use of SpaceX's Starlink communications constellation, citing media reports in December 2024 about a new system specifically targeting Starlink called Kalinka and developed by the Russian Center for Unmanned Systems and Technologies.
5 Chinese satellites practiced ‘dogfighting’ in space, Space Force says
Space Force leaders are sharpening their rhetorical swords regarding the service's need to build space warfighting chops.
Scout Space nabs DARPA deal to simulate autonomous satellite swarming
The BRIDGES project is Scout's first with DARPA, but the company's SDA-related software and hardware — including its "plug and play" optical sensor packages designed as hosted payloads — already have caught the eye of Space Force officials.
Northrop Grumman to conceptualize Moon trains for DARPA
"The envisioned lunar railroad network could transport humans, supplies and resources for commercial ventures across the lunar surface," according to Northrop Grumman's announcement.
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.
Second Russian Luch/Olymp satellite now trailing Western systems in orbit
While the new Russian satellite didn't get super close to any others, its behavior "could be considered unfriendly," said Slingshot's Audrey Schaffer, who until recently served as the director of space policy at the National Security Council.
Space moves: Trackers losing maneuvering sats, increasing heavenly danger, study says
The COMSPOC study included a look at risks from unannounced rendezvous and proximity operations — such as those being routinely performed by the Russian "inspector" satellite Luch/Olymp that have raised hackles at the Defense Department — and the risks to US military satellites cause by mis-plotting the trajectories of adversary birds.