Present-day efforts to return to the Moon aren’t motivated by nostalgia; they represent the beginning of a sustained human presence, economy, and operations in cislunar space, paving the way for future expeditions deeper into and eventually beyond the Solar System.
During the Air, Space and Cyber Conference, Under Secretary of the Air Force, Melissa Dalton, and other DoD leaders discussed the unique challenge of modernizing the Air Force’s nuclear deterrence fleet: replacing Minuteman III with Sentinel ICBMs.
Robert Wall, Aviation Week – At the Defense Space 24 Conference, Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, said directed energy systems — high-energy lasers or high-power microwave weapons — are a growing threat.
In the coming years, the Space Development Agency plans to launch hundreds of satellites to low Earth orbit to track missiles and support targeting missions. But what happens when those spacecraft, each built to last about five years, are no longer operational?
Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes – At the Outer Space Security Conference in Geneva, Russian foreign ministry official Sergey Belousko issued a veiled threat to commercial space outfits that he accused of interfering in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Thierry Dubois and Robert Wall, Aviation Week – Satellite operators and launch providers may rely on increasingly complex arrangements, like having a heavy launcher send relatively small spacecraft to geostationary Earth orbit or outer space.
Sandra Erwin, SpaceNews – The Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3), developed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, aims to test advanced technologies for future GPS systems. Its launch, potentially before year’s end, hinges on the certification of ULA’s Vulcan rocket.
Sandra Erwin, SpaceNews – Joint Commercial Operations (JCO), based at Schriever Space Force Base and led by Barbara Golf, is taking on broader responsibilities, including using commercial space systems for battlefield intelligence.
Jeff Foust, SpaceNews – In a talk at the Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies (AMOS) Conference Sept. 19, Richard DalBello, director of the Office of Space Commerce, said user testing of the initial Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) system will start by the end of the month.
Tameika Hollis, former CEO of Illuminate, was appointed vice president and chief information officer at The Aerospace Corp., effective Oct. 7. Aerospace said Thursday Hollis, an experienced national security executive, will have oversight of the nonprofit’s information technology, security, safety and facilities organizations.
