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U.S. Space Force Looks to Range of the Future 2028 Initiative

U.S. Space Force Looks to Range of the Future 2028 Initiative
The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard suffered a catastrophic anomaly moments after launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Oct. 28, 2014, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Cygnus spacecraft was filled with about 5,000 pounds of supplies slated for the International Space Station, including science experiments, experiment hardware, spare parts, and crew provisions. A Range Safety Officer (RSO) was able to engage the flight termination system before impact. By 2030, launches are to transition to autonomous command-destruct solutions (NASA Photo)

Five weeks before the establishment of the U.S. Space Force on Dec. 20 last year, Gen. John "Jay" Raymond wrote a memorandum to DoD and space industry officials laying out a Range of the Future 2028 initiative to move to all-autonomous launches by the start of fiscal 2026. Raymond was then the commander of U.S. Space Command and Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) and would soon become the first chief of space operations for the sixth military service. "AFSPC launch…

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