Via Satellite — The second batch of U.S. Space Force Space Development Agency (SDA) Tranche 1, Transport Layer communications satellites launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried the 21 Lockheed Martin satellites.
MeriTalk — The Space Force activated a new acquisition unit tasked with advancing its efforts across narrowband, tactical, and strategic satellite communications (SATCOM) systems. The new unit falls under Space Systems Command (SSC), and is the latest “System Delta” created to integrate acquisition personnel and Space Force operators into unified teams.
Ars Technica — The Orion spacecraft, which will fly four people around the Moon, arrived inside the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 16, ready to be stacked on top of its rocket for launch early next year.
Air and Space Forces — At AFA’s Air, Space, and Cyber Conference, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman highlighted several ongoing initiatives, including deepening connections between operational units and acquisition teams, scouring procurement plans to find ways to integrate commercial capabilities, and investing in its military and civilian workforce.
The Hill — The U.S. Space Force announced that SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA) have been given contracts for high-priority national security missions budgeted in fiscal year 2026.
Air and Space Forces — Muon Space, a California-based manufacturer of small satellites, was awarded a $44.6 million contract for in-orbit demonstrations of the company’s environmental monitoring technology in support of military applications.
Air and Space Forces — In an Oct. 8 notice to industry, the service said it plans to start a competition in January for the effort, dubbed Maneuverable GEO. The intent is to create a pool of contractors the service can tap, when needed, to supplement military capabilities.
Aviation Week — NASA is aiming to land two astronauts near the lunar south pole in late 2027. That mission—the third in the Artemis program—would follow the Artemis II crewed flight test around the Moon, which is slated to launch by April.
Aviation Week — Initially dismissed by the space industry, Cubesats have made space engineering and science accessible to a wide range of players through partnerships among commercial space companies, universities, and NASA.
The Aerospace Corporation is championing an innovative, enterprise-wide approach to engineering the space economy through collaboration in a digital engineering environment.
