U.S. Space Force

By Graham Warwick
Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Garrett Reim
New technologies are leveraging the advantages of GEO.
Satellites

By Guy Norris
U.S. Space Command's Gen. Stephen Whiting supports plans by the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command to increase its space personnel and space control.
Budget, Policy & Regulation

By Vivienne Machi
The trilateral n Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability program involves the standup of a network of ground-based radars by the end of the decade.
Space

By Vivienne Machi
The first U.S. military payload to be hosted aboard an international partner’s spacecraft is now in orbit.
Space

By Vivienne Machi
The service is contemplating nonkinetic space fires and new roles for its soldiers in a changing era of space-based warfare.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Vivienne Machi
The resilient missile warning/missile tracking (MW/MT) in the MEO Epoch 2 constellation could include up to 18 satellites.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Vivienne Machi
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the first U.S. military payloads to be hosted onboard allied commercial satellites launched on Aug. 11.
Space

By Graham Warwick
Power-dense motors; controls from high flyers; rechargeable thermal battery; in-space refueling port.
Emerging Technologies

By Irene Klotz
The rocket lifted off from China’s Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on Aug. 6 with 18 Qianfan “Thousand Sails” satellites.
Space

By Vivienne Machi
Experts from the U.S. and Australia have performed tests on the Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR) in an anechoic chamber to mimic contested and limited GPS conditions.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Vivienne Machi
The CODA system automatically translates and standardizes commercially derived data points to support space domain awareness missions.
Space

By Garrett Reim
The Space Systems Command’s System Engineering Review Board recommended the fueling port.
Commercial Space

By Brian Everstine
Senate appropriators are seeking to reverse some of the Pentagon’s proposed development cutbacks as part of an $852.2 billion fiscal 2025 defense spending bill.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Vivienne Machi
The Pentagon is exploring using commercial launch vehicles for point-to-point delivery by the 2030s.
Space

By Garrett Reim
The Aerospace Corp. plans to expand its TRL Bootcamp, a technology-accelerator program initially funded by the U.S. Space Force to include NASA.
Emerging Technologies

By Garrett Reim
Northrop Grumman’s Geosynchronous Auxiliary Support Tanker (GAS-T) spacecraft has passed the system requirements review, but the contract with SSC has ended.
Space

By Irene Klotz
A decade after Congress began banning Russian rocket engines for U.S. missions, the final national security payload for an Atlas V has lifted off.
Space

By Vivienne Machi
The DSMP satellite fleet has been in service since the early 1960s.
Space

By Vivienne Machi
The U.S. Space Force has added another mission to the ongoing National Security Space Launch Phase 2 program.
Space

By Michael Bruno
Space Infrastructure Ventures on July 12 agreed to provide up to $2.3 million via a convertible note until Sept. 1.
Commercial Space

By Brian Everstine
The first pillar of the Australia-UK-U.S. pact focuses on the sale of Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia in the early 2030s.
GASCC & RIAT

By Brian Everstine, Vivienne Machi
The U.S. Space Force does not yet anticipate any delays to its upcoming launch manifest because of the investigation into the July 11 failure of a Falcon 9.
Commercial Space

By Vivienne Machi
A new data translation system meant to provide U.S. military space operators with a clearer picture of the heavens has entered operational trials.
Space

By Michael Bruno
KBR’s board unanimously OK’d the purchase, but it is subject to certain regulatory approvals prior to closing.
Space