The U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) is engaged in a multi-pronged effort to speed up its acquisition of satellites and other equipment, the center’s leader said Nov. 2. One step involves giving leaders of SMC’s directorates more responsibility for the smaller programs they manage, said Lt. Gen. John Thompson, who became […]
Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), President Donald Trump’s nominee to be NASA administrator, pledged Nov. 1 to be a nonpartisan leader of the space agency despite concerns among Senate Democrats about putting a politician in the job. “We need a consensus agenda,” Bridenstine testified at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. […]
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is joining the small-satellite wave and intends to launch its first such spacecraft in late December, an RAF official said Oct. 27. The RAF satellite, Carbonite-2, will be equipped with an electro-optical camera to provide full-motion video, said Air Vice-Marshal “Rocky” Rochelle, the RAF’s chief of staff for capability and […]
Leaders of a House-Senate conference committee expressed hope Oct. 25 that they will quickly wrap up negotiations on a final version of the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), said that he is confident lawmakers can finish the compromise bill “within the next […]
NASA has picked SpaceX to launch the Sentinel-6A ocean-observing satellite and United Launch Alliance (ULA) to launch the Landsat-9 Earth-imaging satellite, the agency announced Oct. 19. Landsat-9 is slated to lift off as early as December 2020 on an Atlas 5 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. ULA is a joint venture between […]
Less than two weeks after Vice President Mike Pence indicated that the Trump administration plans to send astronauts to the Moon, Bigelow Aerospace and United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced Oct. 17 that they hope to deploy an inflatable space habitat in about five years to support such lunar exploration. The two companies said that they […]
A National Reconnaissance Office satellite (NROL-52) blasted off on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket Oct. 15 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The 3:28 a.m. liftoff of the classified intelligence satellite from Space Launch Complex-41 was originally planned for Oct. 6 but was delayed by weather and a problem with […]
Prompted by a controversial House-passed proposal to create a space corps in the Air Force Department, the Department of Defense has begun a “very good dialogue” with Congress on how military space activities should be organized, according to Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord. “I think what we’re doing right now is having a very healthy […]
The U.S. Air Force has formally accepted the first Global Positioning System (GPS) III satellite from prime contractor Lockheed Martin [LMT], the company announced Oct. 10. The “available for launch” milestone clears the way for the spacecraft, which is in storage, to lift off in 2018, Lockheed Martin said. Lockheed Martin is building a total […]
The U.S. Air Force released a solicitation late Oct. 5 that envisions developing new, domestically produced space launch vehicles to end the service’s reliance on Russian-made RD-180 engines. According to the request for proposals, issued by the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center, the Air Force plans to award launch service agreements (LSAs) to fund […]
