Tag: Space Force
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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…
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In a rare disclosure, the Pentagon provides an update on the X-37B spaceplane
After more than nine months in an unusual, highly elliptical orbit, the US military’s X-37B spaceplane will soon begin dipping its wings into Earth’s atmosphere to lower its altitude before eventually coming back to Earth for a runway landing, the Space Force said Thursday. The aerobraking maneuvers will use a series of passes through the…
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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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Space Force clears Blue Origin and Stoke Space to bid for fast-turnaround launches
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket and Stoke Space’s Nova rocket. (Blue Origin / Stoke Space Illustrations) The U.S. Space Force has added Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture and Stoke Space, a startup that’s headquartered nearby in Kent, Wash., to a list of eligible providers for rapid-response, small-satellite launch services. The designation means the two…
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Blue Origin joins SpaceX and ULA on Pentagon list for $5.6B in launch contracts
An artist’s conception shows Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket on the rise. (Blue Origin Illustration) The Department of Defense has put Kent, Wash.-based Blue Origin in the running for a share of up to $5.6 billion in national security space launch contracts, marking a first for Jeff Bezos’ space venture. The decision means Blue Origin’s…
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Space Force and Starfish Space lay out their roadmap for satellite docking mission
An artist’s conception shows the Otter spacecraft in geostationary Earth orbit. (Starfish Space Illustration) The U.S. Space Force says a Pentagon partnership with Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space will result in a “first-of-its-kind docking mission” aimed at adding to the maneuverability of national security assets on orbit. Starfish Space’s $37.5 million contract for a demonstration of…