Tag: Space Force
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Prepping for Starship, SpaceX is about to demolish one of ULA’s launch pads
The US Air Force is moving closer to authorizing SpaceX to move into one of the largest launch pads at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, with plans to use the facility for up to 76 launches of the company’s Starship rocket each year. A draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) released this week by…
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There’s a secret reason the Space Force is delaying the next Atlas V launch
Pushed by trackmobile railcar movers, the Atlas V rocket rolled to the launch pad last week with a full load of 27 satellites for Amazon’s Kuiper Internet megaconstellation. Credit: United Launch Alliance Last week, the first operational satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband network were minutes from launch at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.…
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Space Force allocates $2.4B in national security launch contracts to Blue Origin
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket lifts off from its Florida launch pad in January. (Blue Origin via YouTube) Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture has been awarded $2.4 billion in the U.S. Space Force’s latest round of procurement for future national security launches. “It’s an honor and huge responsibility to team with the U.S. government…
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Stoke Space and Rocket Lab join Space Force’s national security launch program
An artist’s conception shows Stoke Space’s Nova rocket in flight. (Stoke Space Illustration) The U.S. Space Force has added Kent, Wash.-based Stoke Space and California-based Rocket Lab USA to the list of providers for its $5.6 billion round of national security launches. Each company will receive a $5 million task order to assess its specific…
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Firm wins Space Force funding to provide an “aircraft carrier” in orbit
In recent years, the US military has made much of a concept known as tactically responsive launch. This essentially means that if there is some rapidly developing threat in space—say an adversary takes out a key national defense satellite—the military would like the capability to rapidly fuel a satellite on Earth, mate it to a…
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Gravitics wins support from Space Force to create an orbital carrier for space vehicles
An artist’s conception shows Gravitics’ Orbital Carrier with payloads ready for deployment. (Gravitics Illustration) The U.S. Space Force has chosen Marysville, Wash.-based Gravitics to build and fly an orbital carrier that could deliver maneuverable space vehicles to the final frontier — and have them ready to respond to future threats. The project will be supported…
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The ax has become an important part of the Space Force’s arsenal
This is Part 1 of a two-part series on the military’s secretive Space Rapid Capabilities Office. ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico—For decades, America’s big defense contractors have known they can count on a steady flow of business from the Pentagon. You win some, and you lose some. But don’t fret. Inevitably, there’s a new opportunity to get…
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ULA’s Vulcan rocket still doesn’t have the Space Force’s seal of approval
Last October, United Launch Alliance started stacking its third Vulcan rocket on a mobile launch platform in Florida in preparation for a mission for the US Space Force by the end of the year. That didn’t happen, and ULA is still awaiting the Space Force’s formal certification of its new rocket, further pushing out delivery…
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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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SpaceX prevails over ULA, wins military launch contracts worth $733 million
The US Space Force’s Space Systems Command announced Friday it has ordered nine launches from SpaceX in the first batch of dozens of missions the military will buy in a new phase of competition for lucrative national security launch contracts. The nine launches are divided into two fixed-price “task orders” that Space Systems Command opened…