Military
Stories about military and national security missions in orbit.
DoD Opens Line of Communication to VCs
The Space Force is meeting with the top funders of commercial space tech, opening a line of communication between the national security and VC communities about threats in orbit and the up-and-coming tech needed to counter them.
The Space Force Cuts Corners
Cut season isn’t ending with NASA: the Space Force’s budget request for FY2025 is ~$600M lower than its last ask for fiscal 2024.
True Anomaly Aims to Disrupt In-Space Sensing With Proliferated Assets
The Space Force is looking to the commercial sector to provide capabilities that it can “make operational now.”
China Moving Quickly To Boost Space Capabilities, General Says
China is advancing so “breathtakingly fast” in space that America is at risk of losing its advantage if officials don’t prioritize investment in the national security space architecture, the chief of US Space Command told Congress on Thursday.
Congress Reveals Russia’s Possible Nuclear ASAT Plans
Congress was thrown into a frenzy yesterday amid reports that Russia is working on a space-based nuclear capability that could target satellites in LEO.
The State of National Security Space Policy 2024
It’s time for the four-year-old Space Force to move out of the establishment phase and work through what it really means to conduct military operations in orbit, including translating 30,000-foot doctrine to the tactical level, according to two former defense officials.
Report: DoD Needs Better Plan to Partner With Allies In Orbit
A lack of cohesiveness across the US space enterprise is getting in the way of cooperation with allies, according to a report released this week by RAND.
Space Force Earns a ‘Marginal’ Grade From Heritage Foundation
The Space Force is not currently able to offer troops the real-time operational intelligence from space that would be required during a potential conflict conflict with an adversary like China, according to a report from the Heritage Foundation.
Why Private Companies Provide Better SSA Than The Pentagon
The TraCCS program not just to give DOD a rest from tracking the ever-increasing amount of stuff in orbit and focus on military objectives; it’s also that private SSA is more accurate than what the government is providing.
The Mitchell Institute Calls for DoD Involvement in Cislunar Development
America’s much-anticipated return to the Moon carries a lot more weight than just NASA’s exploration aims—for the DoD, it’s an essential opportunity to ensure the US maintains superiority and freedom in the space domain.
SDA Awards Tranche 2 Tracking Layer Contracts
The Space Development Agency (SDA) awarded another batch of big ticket contracts yesterday to the three companies that will build the Tranche 2 Tracking Layer of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA).
Rocket Lab Wins $515M Spacecraft Contract
Rocket Lab’s ($RKLB) space systems business got a major boost just before the year drew to a close.
SpaceX Launches the Pentagon’s X-37B Spaceplane
SpaceX launched the Space Force’s X-37B aboard a Falcon Heavy on Dec. 28 after a few weeks of delays.
