The US Space Force

[jsport]

Defense budget includes plans for space-based tracking, Kendall says

"We should be able to move forward with a resilient suite of airborne and space-based sensors," Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said.

www.c4isrnet.com

 

[jsport]

Space Force chief outlines 3-part 'competitive endurance' theory aimed at 'space superiority' - Breaking Defense

In a "Commander's Note" dated March 3, obtained by Breaking Defense, Saltzman argues that the need for space superiority in the face of adversary threats is a key reason the Space Force was created.

breakingdefense.com

 

[jsport]

Space Force eyes True Anomaly's satellite 'pursuit' capability for ops, training - Breaking Defense

The company is using private capital to build its hunter satellite, called Jackal, to shadow adversary satellites seeking to evade US tracking.

breakingdefense.com

 

[jsport]

How Do You Train for a War in Space? Saltzman Says USSF Is Working on the Details | Air & Space Forces Magazine

The Space Force views space as a contested environment due to China, and the service is looking at how it trains for a war in space.

www.airandspaceforces.com

 

[jsport]

Air Force And Space Force On Right Vector—But Need More Resources To Meet Defense Strategy

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall’s first budget built entirely under his direction does a fine job of underwriting Air Force and Space Force capabilities. But the demands on the Air Force Department still far exceed the resources it is allocated.

www.forbes.com

 

[jsport]

Monitoring missile launches a ‘complex beast,’ says Space Force commander in South Korea

The newest command in the Space Force is finding a clear role amid new threats from North Korea, according to its commander.

www.stripes.com

 

[jsport]

Space Force's FY24 budget includes 'offensive' options for space. What does that mean? - Breaking Defense

"There are hard kill and soft kill capabilities, if you will, that we're funding," Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said with regards to offensive space capabilities, but none that would created dangerous space debris.

breakingdefense.com

 

[publiusr]

Boeing sees Space Launch System rocket fit for Pentagon missions

Boeing is interested in offering its gigantic Space Launch System rocket for an upcoming U.S. military launch procurement program potentially worth billions of dollars, the company said Wednesday, signaling a new strategy for a rocket once exclusive to NASA missions.

www.reuters.com

A good payload:

Discoverer II - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

But using a 150 meter wide dish that was going to also be used for radio astronomy:

NASA - Thinking Big About Space Telescopes

The 5 meter cube of water for a calorimeter a good first payload for Starship…cheap and inert.

 

[Forest Green]

Space Force's FY24 budget includes 'offensive' options for space. What does that mean? - Breaking Defense

"There are hard kill and soft kill capabilities, if you will, that we're funding," Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said with regards to offensive space capabilities, but none that would created dangerous space debris.

breakingdefense.com

"There are hard kill and soft kill capabilities, if you will, that we're funding," Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said with regards to offensive space capabilities, but none that would created dangerous space debris.​

To me that seems to says "lasers", or that's the only hard kill option I can think of that doesn't create space debris, at least not much.

 

[TomS]

Space Force's FY24 budget includes 'offensive' options for space. What does that mean? - Breaking Defense

"There are hard kill and soft kill capabilities, if you will, that we're funding," Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said with regards to offensive space capabilities, but none that would created dangerous space debris.

breakingdefense.com

"There are hard kill and soft kill capabilities, if you will, that we're funding," Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said with regards to offensive space capabilities, but none that would created dangerous space debris.​

To me that seems to says "lasers", or that's the only hard kill option I can think of that doesn't create space debris, at least not much.

So, Kendall seems pretty vague and I would not read hard va soft as precise terms.

High-power microwave might count as a hard kill here. It's "non-kinetic" in terrestrial terms, but frying the insides of a satellite is a pretty hard kill in space.

Or maybe neutral particle beams? MDA officially gave up on those a couple of years ago as being too far-term but that was for missile defense. Satellites are potentially easier targets.

 

[Forest Green]

NPBs are tricky due to recoil.

 

[jsport]

Space Force wants $243M in FY24 to kickstart 'Long Range Kill Chain' to track targets from space - Breaking Defense

The Space Force is "working with the Air Force and the Intelligence Community (IC) in a complementary way to design, develop, and deploy space-based GMTI systems," the service's FY24 budget documents explain.

breakingdefense.com

 

[jsport]

USSF announces university opportunities Beyond GEO operations

Washington DC (SPX) Mar 23, 2023 - In partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory and Universities Space Research Association, the United States Space Force announced the establishment of a new University Consortium Research O

www.spacewar.com

 

[Forest Green]

Space Development Agency's FY24 budget request skyrockets to $4.7B - Breaking Defense

The bulk of SDA's FY24 request, some $4.1 billion, is in research, development, test and evaluation aimed at getting the first iterations of its planned satellites for both data relay, called the Transport Layer, and missile warning and tracking, called the Tracking Layer, into orbit.

breakingdefense.com

 

[Forest Green]

Space Development Agency's FY24 budget request skyrockets to $4.7B - Breaking Defense

The bulk of SDA's FY24 request, some $4.1 billion, is in research, development, test and evaluation aimed at getting the first iterations of its planned satellites for both data relay, called the Transport Layer, and missile warning and tracking, called the Tracking Layer, into orbit.

breakingdefense.com

 

[jsport]

Space Force wants $187M to 'enhance' its Unified Data Library - Breaking Defense

Space Force CTIO Linda Costa said the UDL “was built based on the premise that we’re just going to process Space Force data… [but] it’s really the commercial data at scale that we need to combine with the Space Force data.”

breakingdefense.com

 

[Forest Green]

Space Development Agency to launch 10 satellites

Washington DC (SPX) Mar 31, 2023 - SpaceX launched 10 Space Development Agency satellites into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California Sunday in the Tranche 0 mission.

www.spacewar.com

Following tomorrow's launch, those first ten satellites - eight of which are "transport layer" satellites and two of which are "tracking layer" satellites - will undergo calibration and their efficacy will also be evaluated with a series of tests.

Less relevant news.

USSF completes service dress uniform fit tests

Washington DC (SPX) Mar 31, 2023 - The U.S. Space Force completed its final service dress uniform fit test March 27-31 at the Pentagon. The initial fit test was conducted February 13-17 at Peterson Space Force Base. Fit tests a

www.spacewar.com

 

[Forest Green]

Space Development Agency to launch 10 satellites

Washington DC (SPX) Mar 31, 2023 - SpaceX launched 10 Space Development Agency satellites into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California Sunday in the Tranche 0 mission.

www.spacewar.com

Following tomorrow's launch, those first ten satellites - eight of which are "transport layer" satellites and two of which are "tracking layer" satellites - will undergo calibration and their efficacy will also be evaluated with a series of tests.

 

[jsport]

US Space Force’s responsive space strategy taking shape

The service will soon fly its second responsive space mission, taking a satellite built in about eight months and launching it with just 24 hours' notice.

www.c4isrnet.com

 

[jsport]

SPACECOM ops head 'tired of the the excuses' about satellite tracking gaps - Breaking Defense

Not happy with America's ability to precisely track adversarial satellites, Maj. Gen. David Miller fumed, "Somebody's got to figure this out. The American people have paid for this. Somebody's got to deliver."

breakingdefense.com

 

[jsport]

Space Force Is Building a Virtual Training Ground for Space Conflict

In an interview, chief of space operations notes China’s efforts to jam and intercept orbiting satellites.

www.defenseone.com

 

[jsport]

White House taps DoD, State to ensure US access to low Earth orbit - Breaking Defense

"As the United States leads the world in the exploration of the Moon and Mars, maintaining U.S. preeminence in space research is important as the use of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) grows and the development of space enters a new era," states the new national strategy for LEO R&D.

breakingdefense.com

 

[jsport]

Satellite Ground Stations Are Vulnerable, US Warns

The Space Development Agency is beefing up satellite constellations—but keeping an eye on terrestrial attacks.

www.defenseone.com

 

[Forest Green]

Connect 'anyone, anywhere, anytime': SSC slated to test Enigma infrastructure in June - Breaking Defense

“So we're trying to have a full integrated picture from device to transport…to the cloud environment or the hosting environment where we can do our actual work," Col. Jennifer Krolikowski said.

breakingdefense.com

 

[jsport]

US has planes, boats on call for emergencies, why not satellites?

The Space Force is in the early phases of designing a Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve to provide services in a time of conflict or crisis.

www.c4isrnet.com

 

[jsport]

Report: U.S. military satellite antennas overdue for upgrades

Report: U.S. military satellite antennas overdue for upgrades

spacenews.com

 

[jsport]

Saltzman: Space Force has to better define relationship with commercial industry

Saltzman: Space Force has to better define relationship with commercial industry

spacenews.com

 

[jsport]

US call for halting kinetic anti-satellite tests gets boost from UN vote - Breaking Defense

France just last week became the ninth nation to publicly join the moratorium — following Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Switzerland, and Australia.

breakingdefense.com

 

[Forest Green]

International meeting could imperil Pentagon's radar, intel-gathering systems - Breaking Defense

The month-long World Radiocommunications Conference in Dubai will decide whether to change how spectrum use is allocate among various users - including spectrum needed by DoD planes and ships operating abroad.

breakingdefense.com

 

[bobbymike]

Classified, 'substantial' new military space capability should be online by 2026: Space Force chief - Breaking Defense

"I expect that by the end of my tenure, if I make it all the way to [2026], that you're going to see a substantial on-orbit capability that allows us to compete in full-spectrum operations,” Space Force chief Gen. Chance Saltzman said today.

breakingdefense.com

 

[Forest Green]

Classified, 'substantial' new military space capability should be online by 2026: Space Force chief - Breaking Defense

"I expect that by the end of my tenure, if I make it all the way to [2026], that you're going to see a substantial on-orbit capability that allows us to compete in full-spectrum operations,” Space Force chief Gen. Chance Saltzman said today.

breakingdefense.com

The phrase “full-spectrum operations” would indicate something with the ability to do both offensive and defensive operations if needed. While the Pentagon is always cautious about describing — or even acknowledging — that it has on-orbit capabilities that could damage or interfere with the space assets of other countries, the department has slowly become more open over the years about the fact that it is at least developing such systems.

 

[TomcatViP]

Humm, that famous image released 2 years ago?

 

[jsport]

Spy agency to prototype ground moving-target tracking from space

The director of the National Reconnaissance Office said the agency is manufacturing the prototypes and plans to start launching in eight to 12 months.

www.c4isrnet.com

 

[jsport]

Space Force, SPACECOM pushing to speed 'sustained' maneuverability on orbit - Breaking Defense

The Space Force is rushing to meet SPACECOM's demand, developing a new acquisition plan for space "mobility and logistics" — including on-orbit servicing and repair, satellite refueling and space junk cleanup — a plan that will lean heavily on use of commercial capabilities, said SSC's Maj. Gen...

breakingdefense.com

 

[jsport]

NRO expects prototype moving target sensor on orbit in '8 to 12 months,' director says - Breaking Defense

NRO and Space Force "are working hand in hand to shape the future of ground moving target indicators, which will provide day/night, all-weather detection and tracking of ground and maritime targets for the warfighter," NRO Director Chris Scolese said.

breakingdefense.com

 

[jsport]

US Space Command seeks maneuverable, refuelable satellites by 2030

The command is working with the Space Force to demonstrate a satellite servicing capability by 2026.

www.c4isrnet.com

 

[jsport]

US Space Command commercial integration office draws company interest

The office, located within Space Command headquarters, connects and elevates the work of two organizations already working with private sector companies.

www.c4isrnet.com

 

[Forest Green]

Space Force eyes 2025-2026 timeframe for tactically responsive space capabilities - Breaking Defense

“I think now's the time where we need to figure out what is tactically responsive space, and I don't think there's a clear consensus,” said Kurt Eberly, who directs Northrop Grumman’s space launch vehicles business unit.

breakingdefense.com

Space Force 'framework' for commercial reserve satellite fleet coming in summer - Breaking Defense

Col. Rich Kniseley, newly appointed as the head of SSC's Commercial Space Office, told Breaking Defense on Wednesday: "I'm hoping to deliver a framework to leadership this summer."

breakingdefense.com

 

[Forest Green]

L3Harris awarded $145M to modernize US Space Domain Awareness capabilities

Melbourne FL (SPX) Apr 21, 2023 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) announced the award of option year four of the Maintenance Of Space Situational Awareness Integrated Capabilities (MOSSAIC) program. The $145 million contract from t

www.spacewar.com

 

[Forest Green]

Secretive 'SILENTBARKER' sats to launch late summer as space monitoring demands grow - Breaking Defense

Meanwhile, the Government Accountability Office is pushing the Space Force to move faster to actually integrate commercial SDA capabilities in order to fill capability gaps.

breakingdefense.com