LaunchMilitary

NRO Launches First Payload Under New NatSec Contract

The NROL-145 launch is the first under the Space Force’s Phase 3 Lane 1 rubric—a launch contracting mechanism that will spend $5.6B on relatively simple launches with fewer requirements, which might suit new entrants to the national security launch game. 

Military

We Have Some Space Questions About The Golden Dome

President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for a new, satellite-based missile defense architecture around the continental US has defense contractors salivating, but questions about the cost, capabilities, and requirement for such a system remain unanswered. Are we already doing it? The executive order calling for the “Iron Dome” (now Golden Dome) system expected the Pentagon […]

BusinessDeep Space

A Post-Mission Debrief with AstroForge’s CEO

“Will we actually land on an asteroid and get these beautiful samples? Probably f—— not,” Gialich told Payload. “But do we hope to change the name of the game for access to deep space, and show people that the price point we’re doing this at is doable? I hope.”

Technology

Boeing Hits Key Milestone On Path To Quantum First in Orbit

HRL Labs has built a space-hardened quantum payload and demonstrated it on the ground—a key milestone in Boeing’s push to demonstrate the first quantum entanglement swap in space. The device, which is going through final environmental testing, will serve as a “ground twin” for the final payload, which is expected to reach orbit on the […]

CivilLEO

Trump Team Plans To Push TraCSS Out of Government

The White House wants the long-awaited Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) to be handed over to a non-profit or private company, backtracking on a mandate in the first Trump administration to move it into the Office of Space Commerce.

Military

Derek Tournear Will Return to the SDA’s Helm

Dust off that nameplate: Derek Tournear is taking his corner office back. The former leader of the Space Development Agency (SDA) will return to his old job on April 17, following three months of administrative leave.