Tag: military space
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Impulse Space Wins $28 Million Space Force Contract for LEO-Based GEO Surveillance Mission
Impulse Space has received a $28 million U.S. Space Force contract to provide a maneuverable Mira spacecraft for a space domain awareness mission scheduled to launch no earlier than 2029. The spacecraft will operate in low Earth orbit while carrying an optical sensor designed to track and characterize objects in geostationary orbit. A government-provided launch…
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Russian Satellite Imagery Reportedly Supports Iranian Targeting of U.S. Bases
Russian Earth observation satellites are providing imagery to Iranian military forces to support targeting of U.S. and allied installations across the Middle East, according to defense intelligence assessments reported on September 17, 2026. The reported cooperation involves synthetic aperture radar and high-resolution optical imagery used to refine information on fixed military sites, air-defense positions and…
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Space Force Plans Fall Prototype to Fuse Commercial and Military Orbital Tracking Data
The U.S. Space Force plans to launch a prototype software environment later this fall that will automate the integration of commercial and military space-tracking data. Led by Mission Delta 2, the effort is intended to provide faster indications of new satellite deployments, debris clouds and potentially threatening activity without disrupting the service’s high-accuracy collision-avoidance systems.…
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Sedaro Wins Up to $45 Million to Expand Space Force Mission Analysis Platform
Space software company Sedaro has secured an award valued at up to $45 million to expand a mission analysis platform that allows the U.S. Space Force to evaluate how satellites, sensors, communications networks and other capabilities perform together. The commitment represents a substantial investment in a software-focused space contractor and reinforces the service’s effort to…
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U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Says Military Must Prepare for Contested Cislunar Space
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on September 16, 2026, that U.S. forces must prepare to operate in contested environments extending to cislunar space. Speaking at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, he described the modern battlefield as spanning “from the…
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US Space Force Confirms Operation of On-Orbit Weapons, Emphasizes Deterrence
The U.S. Space Force operates weapons in orbit to defend American and allied forces against space-enabled attacks, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Douglas Schiess said during a September 15 address at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. The unusually direct acknowledgment broadens the publicly confirmed scope…
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SpaceX Sets USSF-259 Launch, Second Classified Space Force Mission in Six Days
SpaceX is preparing to launch the classified USSF-259 mission for the U.S. Space Force from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on September 16, marking the company’s second national security flight from the base in six days. A Falcon 9 is scheduled to lift off from Space Launch Complex 4 East during a four-hour window…
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U.S. Space Force Selects Lake Kickapoo, Texas, for Final DARC Radar Site
The U.S. Space Force selected a remote location near Lake Kickapoo in northern Texas on September 9 as the preferred site for the third Deep-space Advanced Radar Capability installation, completing the planned geographic footprint of a three-nation radar network designed to provide persistent surveillance of objects in geosynchronous orbit. DARC is a next-generation ground-based space…
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SpaceX Launches Classified USSF-153 Mission for U.S. Space Force
SpaceX launched the classified USSF-153 mission for the U.S. Space Force aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, at 8:42 a.m. Pacific time on September 10. The mission carried an undisclosed number of national-security spacecraft toward an unannounced orbit. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East and…
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Canada Creates Direct Military Space Career Path for Non-Commissioned Members
The Canadian Armed Forces established a dedicated space occupation for non-commissioned members in summer 2026, allowing recruits to enter military service as space professionals rather than transferring from another trade later in their careers, Brig. Gen. Chris Horner disclosed September 4. Horner, commander of 3 Canadian Space Division and Joint Force Space Component Commander, revealed…