Tag: missile defense
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U.S. Space Force Awards Prototype Contracts for Space-Based Missile Interceptors
The U.S. Space Force has awarded initial prototype contracts to multiple companies to develop space-based interceptors capable of disabling enemy missiles within minutes of launch, as part of the Pentagon’s Golden Dome missile defense initiative, the service said in a statement. The contracts were issued under competitive Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs), a mechanism used to…
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DARPA Awards Space Kinetic Multi-Million Dollar Contract to Advance Space-Based Missile Defense Architecture
U.S. aerospace startup Space Kinetic has secured a multi-million dollar contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to accelerate development of its asymmetric, space-based missile defense architecture, the company said. The award marks a significant step for the venture-backed firm as it works to mature a “one-to-many” defensive constellation designed to counter advanced…
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Maybe Trump should go back to calling his missile shield the Iron Dome
The US Space Force celebrated its fifth birthday last year, when it boasted an annual budget of $29 billion, about 3.5 percent of the Pentagon’s overall funding level. On March 15, President Donald Trump signed a stopgap spending bill that set the Space Force’s budget for fiscal year 2025 at $28.7 billion. This was the…
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Trump executive order calls for a next-generation missile defense shield
One of the new Trump administration’s first national security directives aims to defend against missile and drone attacks targeting the United States, and several elements of the plan require an expansion of the US military’s presence in space, the White House announced Monday. For more than 60 years, the military has launched reconnaissance, communications, and…
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Rocket Report: Falcon 9 flies for 300th time; an intriguing launch from Russia
Welcome to Edition 6.31 of the Rocket Report! Photographers at Cape Canaveral, Florida, noticed a change to the spaceport’s skyline this week. Blue Origin has erected a full-size simulator of its New Glenn rocket vertically on its launch pad for a series of fit checks and tests. Late last year, we reported Blue Origin was…
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SpaceX launches military satellites tuned to track hypersonic missiles
Two prototype satellites for the Missile Defense Agency and four missile-tracking satellites for the US Space Force rode a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Wednesday from Florida’s Space Coast. These satellites are part of a new generation of spacecraft designed to track hypersonic missiles launched by China or Russia and perhaps emerging missile threats…