Tag: military space
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NASA is ready to start buying Vulcan rockets from United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance is free to compete for NASA contracts with its new Vulcan rocket after a successful test flight earlier this year, ending a period where SpaceX was the only company competing for rights to launch the agency’s large science missions. For several years, ULA was unable to bid for NASA launch contracts after…
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Space Command chief says dialogue with China is too often a one-way street
The head of US Space Command said Wednesday he would like to see more transparency from the Chinese government on space debris, especially as one of China’s newer rockets has shown a propensity for breaking apart and littering low-Earth orbit with hundreds of pieces of space junk. Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of US Space Command,…
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China’s Long March 6A rocket is making a mess in low-Earth orbit
The upper stage from a Chinese rocket that launched a batch of Internet satellites Tuesday has broken apart in space, creating a debris field of at least 700 objects in one of the most heavily-trafficked zones in low-Earth orbit. US Space Command, which tracks objects in orbit with a network of radars and optical sensors,…
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With a landmark launch, the Pentagon is finally free of Russian rocket engines
United Launch Alliance delivered a classified US military payload to orbit Tuesday for the last time with an Atlas V rocket, ending the Pentagon’s use of Russian rocket engines as national security missions transition to all-American launchers. The Atlas V rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 6:45 am EDT…
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A mid-September test flight of Vulcan could permit a military launch this year
United Launch Alliance is targeting September 16 for the second test flight of the new Vulcan rocket, and a flawless mission could finally set the stage for the first Vulcan launch for the US military by the end of the year. The US Space Force has contracted ULA’s Vulcan rocket to launch the majority of…
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NATO allies pledge $1 billion to promote sharing of space-based intel
During their summit in Washington, DC, this week, NATO member states committed more than $1 billion to improve the sharing of intelligence from national and commercial reconnaissance satellites. The agreement is a further step toward integrating space assets into NATO military commands. It follows the bloc’s adoption of an official space policy in 2019, which…
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ULA will launch its second Vulcan rocket without a real payload
The second flight of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket will take off in September with a dummy payload in place of Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane, preserving a chance for ULA to begin launching US military satellites on the new rocket by the end of the year, officials announced Wednesday. Tory Bruno, ULA’s CEO, announced…
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Blue Origin joins SpaceX and ULA in new round of military launch contracts
After years of lobbying, protests, and bidding, Jeff Bezos’s space company is now a military launch contractor. The US Space Force announced Thursday that Blue Origin will compete with United Launch Alliance and SpaceX for at least 30 military launch contracts over the next five years. These launch contracts have a combined value of up…
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Blue Origin joins SpaceX and ULA in new round of military launch contracts
After years of lobbying, protests, and bidding, Jeff Bezos’s space company is now a military launch contractor. The US Space Force announced Thursday that Blue Origin will compete with United Launch Alliance and SpaceX for at least 30 military launch contracts over the next five years. These launch contracts have a combined value of up…
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US officials: A Russian rocket launch last week likely deployed a space weapon
The launch of a classified Russian military satellite last week deployed a payload that US government officials say is likely a space weapon. In a series of statements, US officials said the new military satellite, named Kosmos 2576, appears to be similar to two previous “inspector” spacecraft launched by Russia in 2019 and 2022. “Just…