Gen. Michael Guetlein said that the service is "looking at losing about seven" of the 10 launches it planned under the National Security Space Launch program in FY24 if the CR is prolonged.
Lt. Gen. Shawn Bratton, who has been charged to establish the new Space Force Futures Command, said cislunar and dynamic space operations are areas for the command's scrutiny, since neither have yet proven their 'military utility."
"Approximately 90 [percent] of our foundational data is unclassified, which helps us share products more broadly with partners and allies across the globe," a spokesperson for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency told Breaking Defense.
A top official from state-owned Barzan Holdings told Breaking Defense the firm has invested with US-based SpinLaunch to fling satellites into orbit without the use of rockets.
Space Force's primary acquisition command, Space Systems Command (SSC), is seeking industry input on the possibility of building smaller, lighter and cheaper GPS satellites.
With apparent frustration with another program, Space Force acquisition chief Frank Calvelli asked, “What I don't get… [is] why would somebody want to have this sort of reputation-ruining stain in the papers all the time?”
“Mission engineering” can integrate space and ground assets to push data to the edge.
New SpoC head Lt. Gen. David Miller said decisions about new Integrated Mission Deltas are expected "in the coming weeks."
“We need a budget to be able to continue to fund this,” said Space Development Agency Director Derek Tournear. “We always assume there will be a continuing resolution for a few months, but not six to 12.”
"We are clearly moving away from airborne ISR assets and moving into space. It's the absolute right thing to do from a resiliency and sustainability perspective," Air Force space acquisition czar Frank Calvelli said.
On the two year anniversary of the war, the Breaking Defense team has assembled a series of pieces on the state of the conflict across multiple domains, what might come in year three, and what lessons the US has learned from the conflict.
"This is not only new; it's astounding. It's shocking. It's a huge change (if adopted)," one industry contractor told Breaking Defense of the proposal.
"Nuclear weapons in space are a really, really dumb idea," said Jessica West of Canadian non-profit Ploughshares, but experts note that with Russia, nothing can ever be fully ruled out.
The agencies said in their joint announcement that the "launch of the two prototype systems will be followed by two years of on-orbit testing."
In this op-ed, Maj. Aaron Brynildson argues the need for a judge advocate unit for the Space Force.