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Air Force

Lawmakers Want DoD To Consider Smaller Buses For Key Satellites

By Marc Selinger

Thursday, April 26th, 2018

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Lawmakers Want DoD To Consider Smaller Buses For Key Satellites

The Air Force's SBIRS GEO-4 missile-warning satellite lifts off on an Atlas 5 rocket. (Photo courtesy of United Launch Alliance)

Concerned that large, high-value satellites are vulnerable to growing threats from potential enemies, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) wants the Department of Defense to consider making greater use of smaller spacecraft.The committee’s newly unveiled fiscal year 2019 defense authorization bill would require DoD to study the benefits and risks of using small- and medium-size buses for certain new satellites, including those providing protected communications and missile warning. A HASC staffer told reporters April 25 that while the Air Force is looking…

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