China has reached out to US on orbital safety amid thawing comms freeze: SPACECOM Chief

China has reached out to US on orbital safety amid thawing comms freeze: SPACECOM Chief
China has reached out to US on orbital safety amid thawing comms freeze: SPACECOM Chief

“[W]e’ve heard proactively from the Chinese twice on two things they wanted to talk to us about with space safety related issues,” said SPACECOM Commander Gen. Stephen Whiting. “We think that is very positive … ”

Space Force lays out 8 areas where it wants commercial firms to help out

Space Force lays out 8 areas where it wants commercial firms to help out
Space Force lays out 8 areas where it wants commercial firms to help out

The Space Force’s new Commercial Space Strategy pledges real money towards buying commercial solutions, a long-standing concern from industry.

Commerce’s ‘Global Vision’ for tracking on orbit systems emphasizes international coordination

Commerce’s ‘Global Vision’ for tracking on orbit systems emphasizes international coordination
Commerce’s ‘Global Vision’ for tracking on orbit systems emphasizes international coordination

A global ecosystem that shares space situational awareness data can secure a safe future for space, but much greater international coordination is needed, according to a new document from the Office of Space Commerce.

SPACECOM wants $1.2B in FY25 for ‘unfunded priorities,’ most classified

SPACECOM wants $1.2B in FY25 for ‘unfunded priorities,’ most classified
SPACECOM wants $1.2B in FY25 for ‘unfunded priorities,’ most classified

The SPACECOM list includes almost $704 million for three unnamed classified programs, as well as $90 million to fund a trio of classified Navy electronic warfare-based “counterspace” capabilities.

‘Slow transition:’ Commerce may need 5+ years to take over DoD non-military space tracking

‘Slow transition:’ Commerce may need 5+ years to take over DoD non-military space tracking
‘Slow transition:’ Commerce may need 5+ years to take over DoD non-military space tracking

“It’s not going to be like a ‘boom’ milestone delivery where one day there’s nothing and the next day, there’s a finished system,” Richard DalBello, director of the Office of Space Commerce, said of the swap from DoD to Commerce.

Space Force sees potential value from DoC commercial sat tracking data

Space Force sees potential value from DoC commercial sat tracking data
Space Force sees potential value from DoC commercial sat tracking data

“I would imagine that as Department of Commerce continues to mature this concept, we will definitely want to take advantage of what they’re doing,” said Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein.

DARPA picks 14 vendors for lunar economy-building study

DARPA picks 14 vendors for lunar economy-building study
DARPA picks 14 vendors for lunar economy-building study

Technologies being explored include “lunar power; mining and commercial in-situ resource utilization; communications, navigation, and timing; transit, mobility, and logistics; and construction and robotics,” according to DARPA.

Space Force plans FY24 update for space monitoring data ‘library’

Space Force plans FY24 update for space monitoring data ‘library’
Space Force plans FY24 update for space monitoring data ‘library’

The Space Force, in essence, wants to move the 2018-conceived Unified Data Library from a card catalog system to a machine-to-machine search engine using artificial intelligence tools.

Space moves: Trackers losing maneuvering sats, increasing heavenly danger, study says

Space moves: Trackers losing maneuvering sats, increasing heavenly danger, study says
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.

At Hawaii space conference, DoD space monitoring challenges in the spotlight

At Hawaii space conference, DoD space monitoring challenges in the spotlight
At Hawaii space conference, DoD space monitoring challenges in the spotlight

“Providing space operators with relevant, timely data can help to prevent operational surprise and support efforts to protect and defend space assets,” a recent report to Congress on Pentagon space policy and strategy says.

Top Guard space officer fears readiness loss as Space and Air Force processes diverge

Top Guard space officer fears readiness loss as Space and Air Force processes diverge
Top Guard space officer fears readiness loss as Space and Air Force processes diverge

The Ohio Air National Guard’s 178th Wing on Aug. 10-11 hosted the annual Vulcan Guard space exercise, that this year included personnel from US Space Command, the Brazilian military and all seven National Guard states conducting space operations.

IARPA hopes new sensors, AI analysis can track tiny but ‘mission-ending’ space debris

IARPA hopes new sensors, AI analysis can track tiny but ‘mission-ending’ space debris
IARPA hopes new sensors, AI analysis can track tiny but ‘mission-ending’ space debris

IARPA hopes to transition the results of its debris detection and tracking research to the Space Force, NASA and other Defense Department and intelligence agencies.

NOAA eases licensing restrictions on commercial remote sensing

NOAA eases licensing restrictions on commercial remote sensing
NOAA eases licensing restrictions on commercial remote sensing

The changes included, among other things, the removal some restrictions on non-Earth imaging and rapid revsits of ground targets, NOAA explained, “and most notably,” a removal of all of the restrictions imposed in 2020 on X-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR).

Debris from ASAT tests creating ‘bad neighborhood’ in low Earth orbit: Analyst

Debris from ASAT tests creating ‘bad neighborhood’ in low Earth orbit: Analyst
Debris from ASAT tests creating ‘bad neighborhood’ in low Earth orbit: Analyst

Russian and Chinese anti-satellite tests are responsible for “pretty much 20 percent” of “conjunction” warnings, that is predictions that two space objects are likely to collide, in 2022, said the State Department’s Eric Desautels.