Trump eliminated a key space advisory committee at the worst time
Cutting the Advisory Committee on Excellence in Space endangers America's leadership in space by shifting away from public-private collaboration, writes Kathleen Curlee of CSET.
AST, Kayhan, LeoLabs team to demo capability to reduce Space Force satellite tracking times
The goal of the collaborative effort was to show that commercial data can help close the time lag between when a satellite is released into orbit from a rocket to when the Space Force can reliably track it and put the trajectory coordinates into the military's catalog of space objects, said Kayhan CEO Siamak Hesar..
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Constantly evolving aerial threats demand training that adapts accordingly
With potential adversaries no longer predictable, training must move beyond just live exercises and flight simulators.
Warren, Duckworth probe Air Force secretary nominee on dealings with Elon Musk
“These reports raise concerns about your ability, if confirmed as Secretary, to treat contractors fairly and prioritize the Air Force’s mission over Elon Musk’s business interests,” wrote Democratic Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Elizabeth Warren.
Space Force launches for ULA’s Vulcan slip to next year
Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, chief of the Space Force’s Space Systems Command, stated that the service will not move forward with awards for the newest round of the National Security Space Launch program until Congress approves the fiscal 2025 budget.
FAA initiates review of commercial launch rules industry claims throttle innovation, new entrants
While Pentagon launches are not covered by FAA rules, a healthy and, importantly, diverse rocket industry base is important to the Space Force for keeping its launch costs down.
ULA’s Vulcan rocket makes second launch in quest to qualify for Space Force missions
Should Vulcan get the Space Force go-ahead, both planned NSSL missions are expected to fly by the end of the year as planned.
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Threat warning and survivability in the modern battlespace
Protecting warfighters requires fast, accurate, and dependable systems that work flawlessly to military standards.
Space Development Agency eyes laser link between different contractors’ birds
“I describe PWSA, the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, as the Android model,” said Space Development Agency director Derek Tournear. “If we get vendor lock, if only one works, or if they can't talk to each other, that falls apart pretty quickly.”
Wittman: No ‘reservations’ about loyal wingman CCA drones’ affordability
“I don't have reservations about affordability of CCA, because I think just by their very nature, they want to be much less expensive,” Rep. Rob Wittman told Breaking Defense. “What I want to make sure of is that we don't try to take a CCA that's a basic platform and add a bunch of cost to it, because we have this requirement creep."
UK launches first military spy satellite from Falcon 9 rocket
The Tyche satellite is the lead system from the wider £968 million ($1.2 billion) ISTARI programme, aimed at delivering a multi-satellite ISR constellation, together with future ground systems, by 2031.
To win the space race with China, the US needs these budgetary reforms
In this op-ed, Olivia Letts of George Mason University discusses the incompatibilities of PPBE with advancing space technologies and how to address these challenges.
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Next-generation KC-390 Millennium expands multimission options for air forces
The jet-powered transport’s speed, survivability and multi-mission agility position it as a viable option to the C-130 for the US and NATO allies.
Space Force working with SpaceX to closely watch falling Starlinks
The Space Force today circulated a fact sheet explaining what the service called a "proactive" and "collaborative" effort to keep tabs on Starlink re-entries as SpaceX begins to de-orbit some 100 early variants.
ROC Stars: Air Force seeks more firms for cargo delivery via rocket
AFRL's fiscal 2025 budget plans show that the lab hopes to complete testing of the capability to air-drop cargo pallets down from Starship during FY25, and to launch a demonstration flight to "transport 30 to 100 tons of cargo to an austere site" in late FY25 or early FY26.
In a Taiwan conflict, tough choices could come for Big Tech
Washington could do more to incentivize tech companies to distance themselves from China, but CEOs should examine how they'd react to a fight in the Pacific, CSET's Sam Bresnick and Emelia Probasco argue.
Pentagon working with Ukraine, SpaceX to prevent Russian exploitation of Starlink
“Just the idea of this being more available and so people can find it and try to exploit it, that's something we just have to bake in and understand,” Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb said of commercial services like SpaceX’s Starlink constellation.