Tag

Space Force

All articles tagged with #space force

military3 days ago•13 min saved

Space Force broadens security-launch roster with Relativity Space and Impulse Space

The U.S. Space Force added Relativity Space and Impulse Space to the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 pool, expanding pre-qualified options for lower-risk national-security missions; Relativity Space’s Terran R is a mid-lift candidate, while Impulse Space provides orbital transfer vehicles and the Helios upper stage to complement a partner launcher, signaling a shift to integrated transport services and greater commercial competition; Lane 2 remains for the military’s most demanding, fully certified missions.

via SpaceNews|

#impulse-space #military #nssl

space-exploration7 days ago•101 min saved

Private satellites complete first orbital interception in Space Force’s Victus Haze test

A Space Force TacRS mission, Victus Haze, achieved its first tactical interception between two private spacecraft: True Anomaly’s Jackal-0004 and Rocket Lab’s Puma. Jackal conducted proximity ops, imaging, and tracking after Puma’s Puma/ Pioneer platform was launched by Rocket Lab on June 19, 2026 (Jackal launched earlier in May). The intercept beat the 72-hour deadline and wrapped up 11 hours early, with Jackal’s control handed to Mosaic for mission planning. This milestone demonstrates the collaboration between the U.S. Space Force and commercial partners to rapidly acquire and characterize orbital objects, a key capability for space-domain awareness and defense.

via Space|

#jackal-0004 #rocket-lab #space-exploration

technology13 days ago•3 min saved

Space Force Demonstrates Rapid-Launch Drills with 16-Hour Rocket Lab Mission

The U.S. Space Force, via its TacRS program, proved rapid-response space-launch capability by directing Rocket Lab to launch an unscheduled mission that placed a Pioneer spacecraft into orbit in 16 hours 42 minutes—fastest yet for a real payload—demonstrating how rockets can be scrambled like fighter jets to counter satellite threats, with three more TacRS missions planned from SpaceX and Firefly Alpha.

via Jalopnik|

#asat-threats #rapid-launch #rocket-lab

technology19 days ago•6 min saved

Covert Space Force drill proves rapid orbital inspection

The Space Force’s Victus Haze test—launched quietly from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand site—demonstrates rapid, on-orbit inspection by maneuvering a Puma satellite to rendezvous with True Anomaly’s Jackal, aiming to shorten satellite fielding from years to days or hours with civilian partners.

via Ars Technica|

#jackal #rocket-lab #space-force

space28 days ago•95 min saved

Space Force probes orbital depots to speed satellite servicing

The U.S. Space Force, via Space Systems Command and SpaceWERX, is exploring the design and viability of orbital warehouses to store fuel and supplies for servicing satellites, with plans for two on‑orbit demonstrations in 2027 to test in‑space logistics, propulsion, and depot operations. Highlighted efforts include Starfish Space’s US‑Otter 1 rendezvous/docking and Astroscale’s Provisioner refueler, all part of accelerating in‑space servicing and enabling rapid responses to space threats under the Objective Force 2040 roadmap.

via Space|

#orbital-transfer-vehicles #orbital-warehouses #satellite-servicing

defense1 month ago•3 min saved

K2 Space and Rocket Lab land key roles in Space Force's next-gen PTS-G satcom network

K2 Space will provide the satellite platform for SES’s PTS-G entry while Rocket Lab will supply the spacecraft bus for Viasat’s PTS-G satellite, underscoring the Space Force’s effort to field a protected, commercially derived GEO satcom network in X- and Ka-band. The first production awards were about $437.7 million per prime to SES and Viasat to build and operate satellites for five years, with service expected in 2029. The program is structured as an IDIQ with a $4 billion ceiling, and additional orders are planned starting in 2028, with competition potentially open to other pool members beyond SES and Viasat.

via SpaceNews|

#defense #k2-space #note-extra-tag-not-allowed

technology1 month ago•8 min saved

Cape Canaveral uses big methane blast to sharpen safety rules for a busy launch era

Blue Origin’s New Glenn methane/LOX test at Launch Complex 36 ended in a fireball that shattered hangar windows about a mile away and damaged a weather facility, but it yielded crucial real‑world data on methalox blasts. Space Force and NASA will use the measurements to improve blast models and may shrink keep-out zones from the current 100 percent TNT equivalency as data accumulates, though the policy remains conservative for now. The Space Force estimates the blast danger area for such flights at roughly 7,174 feet in diameter (about two‑thirds of a mile) with debris up to half a mile away, and there were no injuries. With SpaceX, Stoke Space, Relativity Space and Blue Origin expanding methane-fueled rocket pads, the Cape Canaveral area is projected to support up to 500 launches per year by 2036.

via Ars Technica|

#blast-danger-area #cape-canaveral #methane-fueled-rockets

technology1 month ago•3 min saved

Northrop Grumman and Apex Join Forces on Orbit-Based Interceptors for Golden Dome

Northrop Grumman has teamed with Apex to develop space-based interceptors for the Space Force's Golden Dome missile-defense plan, one of 12 firms selected to explore concepts. Apex provides standardized satellite buses to enable faster, cheaper production. The partners aim to demonstrate an on-orbit capability by 2027 and scale production through commercial collaboration, while questions linger about whether space-based interceptors can be affordable at scale given the program’s potential high costs. Other industry players are pursuing similar partnerships under Other Transaction Authority to accelerate prototyping.

via SpaceNews|

#apex #golden-dome #northrop-grumman

military-space1 month ago•13 min saved

Blue Origin lands national-security launch order as New Glenn investigation unfolds

The U.S. Space Force awarded Blue Origin a National Reconnaissance Office launch task order under the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 program for a single launch (NRO Task Order-4) planned for late 2027 to early 2028 from Cape Canaveral, hours after a New Glenn pad explosion. The award signals a push to diversify national-security launch providers while Blue Origin investigates the anomaly and prepares a rebuild; Space Force and NRO reaffirm their partnership and will work with Blue Origin on root-cause actions.

via SpaceNews|

#blue-origin #military-space #new-glenn

science1 month ago•60 min saved

SpaceX lands $4.16B Space Force contract to track airborne threats

SpaceX won a $4.16 billion Space Force contract to develop SB-AMTI, an interconnected system of space sensors, secure links and ground processing to track airborne threats as part of the Golden Dome missile-defense program; the award follows SpaceX's $2.29 billion SATCOM contract and comes as Golden Dome’s price tag climbs toward $185 billion.

via Reuters|

#golden-dome #satellites #sb-amti

science1 month ago•40 min saved

SpaceX lands $4.16B contract to build missile-tracking satellites for Golden Dome

The Pentagon awarded SpaceX a $4.16B contract to build space-based missile-tracking satellites tied to Trump’s planned Golden Dome defense system; the satellites will detect and track targets from space, with SpaceX already winning other Golden Dome components and a $2.29B data-network contract, though experts warn about questions of effectiveness and nuclear-war risk, and the Space Force says some operational capability is expected by 2028.

via The Verge|

#defense #satellites #science

technology1 month ago•6 min saved

SpaceX Wins $2.29B Space Force Contract to Build Military Space Internet Backbone

The U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX a $2.29 billion contract to build the SDN Backbone, a low‑Earth‑orbit satellite system that will serve as the military’s space‑based internet and enable real‑time, high‑capacity, secure communications for joint forces worldwide. SpaceX must deliver a fully operational prototype by the end of 2027, and the backbone will operate in concert with the Space Development Agency’s Transport Layer within an open‑architecture framework. The move underscores SpaceX’s central role in U.S. space and defense programs as NASA expands crew missions with SpaceX amid Boeing delays.

via Teslarati|

#low-earth-orbit #military-communications #space-data-network

space1 month ago•6 min saved

SpaceX Secures US Space Data Network Backbone Contract

The Space Force awarded SpaceX a $2.29 billion fixed-price contract to build the Space Data Network Backbone in low-Earth orbit, leveraging Starlink/Starshield tech to create a global, secure sensor-to-shooter communications layer that links space-based sensing with targeting data; the initiative aims to accelerate a resilient, high-speed space communications backbone, with plans to expand participation, and a fully operational prototype due by the end of 2027.

via Ars Technica|

#space #space-data-network #space-development-agency

technology1 month ago•3 min saved

Mitchell Institute urges Moon-ready Space Force to deter China

A Mitchell Institute paper argues the U.S. should develop a military human spaceflight program and eventually station active‑duty Space Force personnel on the Moon and in orbital stations to deter China’s lunar ambitions, leveraging Title 10 authorities to defend space assets and establish norms, despite the Outer Space Treaty’s bans on militarization. The report cites China’s rapid progress with the Tiangong program and a projected crewed lunar landing by 2030, urging the U.S. to prepare for hard power in space and secure a durable LEO‑to‑lunar infrastructure.

via Gizmodo|

#defense #lunar-habitat #moon

technology1 month ago•4 min saved

SpaceX to Build Global Military Data Backbone in Space

The Space Force awarded SpaceX a $2.29B OTA contract to develop the Space Data Network Backbone, a network of optically interconnected low Earth orbit satellites (Starshield) that will transport military data in space and serve as the backhaul for the SDN architecture, integrating with the Space Development Agency’s Transport Layer; the system aims for near-real-time sensor-to-shooter data across global networks and a fully operational prototype by the end of 2027, with an SDN consortium coordinating interoperability, though concerns have been raised about concentrating future satellite procurement with SpaceX.

via SpaceNews|

#leo-satellites #sdn-backbone #space-force