All articles tagged with #space force
The U.S. Space Force selected 14 companies to compete for task orders under the Andromeda program—a $1.8 billion, 10-year procurement to develop satellites and systems for tracking activity in geosynchronous orbit, starting with RG-XX satellites to replace the current GSSAP fleet and create a more distributed, updatable GEO-surveillance architecture.
Despite last year’s handover of RTX’s GPS OCX ground system, 16 years and about $8 billion later the software remains non-operational, with extensive testing revealing persistent issues across subsystems and lawmakers weighing cancellation as the Space Force considers options to continue with legacy systems or pursue alternatives to enable M-code and GPS III capabilities.
The grounding of ULA’s Vulcan rocket after a motor anomaly could force delays or reassignments for multiple Space Force and NRO missions, with near-term impacts on WGS-11+, Next-Gen GEO, and SILENTBARKER. GPS III SV-10 has been shifted to SpaceX Falcon 9 as launch manifests adjust, while Space Systems Command and the NSSL program are evaluating affected timelines. ULA says no Vulcan flights will occur until corrective actions are completed and a GEM 63XL upgrade is planned for the next Vulcan mission; an investigation into the anomaly is underway.
The Space Force is reworking a slate of national-security launches after ULA’s Vulcan booster anomaly could keep the rocket grounded for months, prompting reassignment of at least one GPS mission to SpaceX and prompting officials to explore rideshares, mission reallocation, and other options while investigations continue and Blue Origin’s New Glenn certification remains unsettled.
The US Space Force moved GPS III-8’s launch from ULA’s Vulcan Centaur to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 due to solid rocket booster anomalies on Vulcan; the 10th GPS III satellite is now set to launch no earlier than late April from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with officials stressing flexibility to maintain timely GPS capability while the Vulcan investigation continues.
The U.S. Space Force’s Space Access and SYD 80 teams have swapped the GPS III-8 mission from United Launch Alliance to SpaceX, with a Falcon 9 now set to deliver the final GPS III SV-10 to orbit no earlier than late April from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral. ULA will instead handle the USSF-70 mission no earlier than summer 2028. The change aims to maintain rapid, reliable GPS capability while the Vulcan anomaly investigation continues, and there are no announced changes to other manifests.
NASA, Space Force, and the FAA are conducting controlled detonations of methane-oxygen (methalox) rocket fuel to measure blast effects and refine danger-area analyses as launches become more frequent. The program starts with baseline C-4 tests, adds unmixed methane/LOX tests, and will scale up to mixed-propellant explosions at progressively larger weights (from 2,000 to 20,000 pounds) to extrapolate hazards for huge rockets like SpaceX’s Starship, with findings guiding future site safety and operating procedures.
The U.S. Space Force terminated AeroVironment’s roughly $1.7 billion SCAR contract for mobile satellite-control antennas after unsuccessful renegotiations, signaling a shift from a single-vendor approach to an open, commercially developed procurement. AeroVironment will recompete and adapt the BADGER design for commercial use, while the company pursues other Space & Directed Energy products amid a lower 2026 revenue outlook and a large backlog. BlueHalo (the project’s ground terminal builder) is now tied to the broader program through AeroVironment via prior acquisition, and some terms may affect long-term revenue while maintaining potential future customers for the tech.
NASA says the 1,300-pound Van Allen Probe from the 2012 mission is due to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere around 7:45 p.m. ET (00:45 GMT) with a 24-hour uncertainty; it will mostly burn up, with a 1 in 4,200 chance of debris causing harm. The mission, which outlasted its planned two-year life by seven years, studied Earth’s radiation belts and helped identify a transient third belt; Van Allen Probe B isn’t expected to re-enter until about 2030, and NASA/US Space Force will monitor the descent.
NASA’s 1,323-pound Van Allen Probe A is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere around March 10, with the Space Force targeting about 7:45 p.m. EDT (2345 GMT) ±24 hours. Most of the spacecraft should burn up during reentry, and any surviving pieces pose a very small risk to people on the ground (about 1 in 4,200). Debris would likely splash down in the ocean. The probes, launched in 2012 and deactivated in 2019, studied Earth’s radiation belts; heightened solar activity has increased atmospheric drag, shortening their orbital lifetimes, with Probe B not expected to reenter until around 2030.
The U.S. Space Force has paused all national-security launches on ULA’s Vulcan Centaur after booster anomalies recurred on the latest mission (USSF-87) and a previous flight, leading to a multi‑month investigation and corrective actions before flights resume.
ULA’s Vulcan Centaur delivered two Space Force satellites but vented an unusual debris plume from a solid booster, prompting a Space Force pause on all military launches aboard the rocket while investigators determine the cause. A prior similar issue on another Vulcan flight and potential delays to GPS 3 and related missions could push launches into May and beyond, with officials weighing a transfer to SpaceX to avoid cascading delays. ULA still aims for 18–22 Vulcan flights in 2026, but the investigation could stretch months and jeopardize the timetable.
The Space Force has paused further launches on ULA’s Vulcan rocket while investigators probe a February 2026 booster anomaly—the second such issue after a 2024 carbon‑composite insulator defect—pushing GPS satellite launches toward SpaceX’s Falcon 9. The investigation is expected to last months as officials seek root cause and corrective actions. Meanwhile, GPS modernization continues: 26 of 31 satellites carry the M-code signal and 19 broadcast the higher‑power L5 civil signal, underscoring the value of having multiple launch providers to maintain global coverage amid rising interference and jamming threats.
In his State of the Union address, Trump praised Space Force, calling it “my baby,” while Artemis 2 astronauts attended the event but were not named; NASA’s Artemis program has faced delays, with Artemis 2’s launch rolled back due to a rocket glitch and now targeting early April at the soonest, and the speech offered little emphasis on Artemis 2 beyond the attendees.
ULA's Vulcan Centaur successfully placed a U.S. Space Force satellite into geosynchronous orbit after observers spotted an anomaly in one solid rocket motor; ULA will investigate the root cause and apply corrective actions before the next Vulcan flight, and a similar booster plume issue occurred on a 2024 flight.