Tag: Space Force
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Stoke Space Raises $1 Billion, Targets Early 2027 Debut for Fully Reusable Nova Rocket
Stoke Space announced on September 8 that it completed the initial closing of a $1 billion Series E financing round, bringing its total capital raised to $2.3 billion. The Kent, Washington-based company will use the funding to prepare its fully reusable Nova Pathfinder rocket for a first orbital launch in early 2027, expand production and…
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SpaceWERX Backs 11 Space Startups in $562.5 Million Push Toward Operational Fielding
SpaceWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force, has selected 11 companies for a new round of Strategic Funding Increase, or STRATFI, agreements intended to move space technologies beyond prototype development and toward operational military use. The agreements are expected to mobilize a combined $562.5 million from government organizations, private investors and other matching…
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White House Strategy Elevates Space to Top Tier of U.S. Military Technology Priorities
The White House has elevated space, alongside undersea warfare and artificial intelligence, to the highest tier of U.S. military science and technology priorities, signaling a sharper focus on maintaining technological superiority in orbit and extending that advantage from very low Earth orbit to the cislunar environment. Released this week, the 24-page National Security Science and…
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U.S. Space Force Extends Aging Weather Satellites Through 2028 as New Military Weather Architecture Takes Shape
The U.S. Space Force will keep its aging Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft operating until at least 2028, extending the life of a satellite fleet that was originally designed for much shorter missions but remains important to military weather forecasting. The decision highlights a transitional period in U.S. military space weather: the Space Force…
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Space Kinetic Wins $50M Space Force Award to Develop Whirlwind Maneuvering System
The company describes a thesis rooted in applying drone economics to orbit, where payloads are cheap, responsive, and potentially disposable. Space Kinetic says it has spent years working with government partners to confirm the underlying physics before maturing the hardware. In November, it received a multimillion dollar DARPA contract to accelerate its architecture for asymmetric…
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Space Force Awards All Points Logistics $250 Million for New Vandenberg Satellite Processing Center
The Space Force is investing in additional capacity as the Pentagon prepares to launch more missile-warning, communications, navigation and intelligence satellites, while commercial operators place greater demands on the launch ranges at Vandenberg and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Satellite processing operations can require specialized clean rooms, high bays, hazardous-fueling areas, security systems…
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Space Force NSSL Ceiling Hits $30B After Lane 1 Triple
Is $30 Billion Enough for the Space Force’s Launch Appetite? The US Space Force tripled the ceiling on its National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 contract to $17 billion on Friday, July 18, 2026 — pushing the combined maximum value of NSSL Phase 3 past $30 billion when added to the Lane 2…
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Pulse Space wins $40M contract from Space Force to work on space laser power system
An artist’s conception shows a satellite receiving energy from a laser beam. (Credit: Pulse Space via Vimeo) Bellevue, Wash.-based Pulse Space says it has received a $40 million award from the U.S. Space Force to develop technologies for laser-based power beaming and orbital tracking systems. The startup, founded in 2022, is working on a system…
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GAO Puts $9.5B Missile-Warning Satellite Under Scrutiny
Does the GAO’s 2026 Space Force Report Signal a Defense Space Acquisition Crisis? The Government Accountability Office has put a $9.5 billion price tag on the Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared geosynchronous constellation — and that number is still growing. The GAO’s annual assessment of major defense acquisition programs, released July 2, reviewed 13 Space…
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True Anomaly Completes Mission X-3 Tests, Advances Jackal Orbital Vehicle Toward Space Force Missions
True Anomaly has successfully completed all objectives for its Mission X-3 flight test campaign, marking a major milestone for the company’s autonomous orbital vehicle, Jackal, and clearing the final steps toward full operational commissioning. Mission X-3 represents the third and most advanced self-funded demonstration mission conducted by the Colorado-based aerospace company. The campaign focused on…