Commerce’s initial space safety system will lean ‘heavily’ on DoD data
DoD is working with Commerce to provide expertise on how to crunch space observational data, said Travis Langster, DoD principal director for space policy.
Secretive ‘SILENTBARKER’ sats to launch late summer as space monitoring demands grow
Meanwhile, the Government Accountability Office is pushing the Space Force to move faster to actually integrate commercial SDA capabilities in order to fill capability gaps.
Space Force eyes 2025-2026 timeframe for tactically responsive space capabilities
“I think now's the time where we need to figure out what is tactically responsive space, and I don't think there's a clear consensus,” said Kurt Eberly, who directs Northrop Grumman’s space launch vehicles business unit.
Space Force ‘framework’ for commercial reserve satellite fleet coming in summer
Col. Rich Kniseley, newly appointed as the head of SSC's Commercial Space Office, told Breaking Defense on Wednesday: "I'm hoping to deliver a framework to leadership this summer."
Space Systems Command ‘reimagines’ its commercial integration office
Col. Rich Kniseley, who will lead the newly created Commercial Space Office, told Breaking Defense, "At the end of the day, I want to be a customer in the commercial market."
Space Force awards L3Harris $145M to continue maintenance, upgrades for orbital tracking
The award is a modification to a contract L3Harris won in 2020 to sustain and improve the systems used to track objects whizzing around the Earth.
UK asks industry for new ground-based space domain awareness sensor capability for Cyprus base
Once operational, the new sensor will be hosted on a UK military base on the Mediterranean island, capable of resident space object (RSO) tracking and “potentially characterisation or neighbourhood watch functions for the GEO orbital regime,” according to a Request for Information (RFI) solicitation.
Space Force, SPACECOM pushing to speed ‘sustained’ maneuverability on orbit
The Space Force is rushing to meet SPACECOM's demand, developing a new acquisition plan for space "mobility and logistics" — including on-orbit servicing and repair, satellite refueling and space junk cleanup — a plan that will lean heavily on use of commercial capabilities, said SSC's Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy.
Pentagon asks Congress for right to launch new tech programs before it has a budget
"One of the reasons it hasn't happened in the past is because Congress is reluctant to give up even this much authority," Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said today. "I think it's a minimal amount of authority to give up for a very high return."
NRO expects prototype moving target sensor on orbit in ‘8 to 12 months,’ director says
NRO and Space Force "are working hand in hand to shape the future of ground moving target indicators, which will provide day/night, all-weather detection and tracking of ground and maritime targets for the warfighter," NRO Director Chris Scolese said.
DoD launches new ‘effort’ to rapidly adopt commercial space capabilities
“We need to take advantage of the diversity of novel ideas and products available from the commercial sector to complement the DoD space and deliver capabilities to our warfighter at a far quicker pace," said Heidi Shyu, the Pentagon's undersecretary of defense for research and engineering.
Classified, ‘substantial’ new military space capability should be online by 2026: Space Force chief
"I expect that by the end of my tenure, if I make it all the way to [2026], that you're going to see a substantial on-orbit capability that allows us to compete in full-spectrum operations,” Space Force chief Gen. Chance Saltzman said today.
SPACECOM sets key requirements for space, including ‘combat power’
Satellite communications has become a priority for US Space Command as part of its space "assurance mission" for NATO allies and international partners in the Ukraine war, says the command's head, Gen. Jim Dickinson.
Lockheed Martin demos on-orbit maneuvering for AFRL, with sat servicing in mind
"The closest proximity that we have imagery of was 400 meters" taken during a pass on Feb. 28, said Karla Brown, program manager for the demonstration satellites at Lockheed Martin Space. "So we hope, with two viable assets up there, to continue the demonstration to get even closer and continue to prove out those algorithms."