Tag: military space
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Secret military space programs can be a little less secret, Pentagon says
Late last year, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks signed a memo to overhaul a decades-old policy on how the Pentagon keeps sensitive military space programs secret. However, don’t expect defense officials to openly discuss everything they’re doing to counter China and Russia in orbit. John Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy, revealed…
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Secret military space programs can be a little less secret, Pentagon says
Late last year, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks signed a memo to overhaul a decades-old policy on how the Pentagon keeps sensitive military space programs secret. However, don’t expect defense officials to openly discuss everything they’re doing to counter China and Russia in orbit. John Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy, revealed…
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The Space Force is changing the way it thinks about spaceports
A lot goes into a successful rocket launch. It’s not just reliable engines, computers, and sophisticated guidance algorithms. There’s also the launch pad and, perhaps even more of an afterthought to casual observers, the roads, bridges, pipelines, and electrical infrastructure required to keep a spaceport humming. Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, commander of the Space Force’s…
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SpaceX launches two rockets—three hours apart—to close out a record year
It seems like SpaceX did everything this year but launch 100 times. On Thursday night, the launch company sent two more rockets into orbit from Florida. One was a Falcon Heavy, the world’s most powerful rocket in commercial service, carrying the US military’s X-37B spaceplane from a launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at…
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A top-secret Chinese spy satellite just launched on a supersized rocket
China’s largest rocket apparently wasn’t big enough to launch the country’s newest spy satellite, so engineers gave the rocket an upgrade. The Long March 5 launcher flew with a payload fairing some 20 feet (6.2 meters) taller than its usual nose cone when it took off on Friday with a Chinese military spy satellite. This…
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Effects of Falcon Heavy launch delay could ripple to downstream missions
SpaceX and the US Space Force thought they were ready to launch the military’s mysterious X-37B spaceplane this week, but ground teams in Florida need to roll the Falcon Heavy rocket back into its hangar for servicing. This is expected to push back the launch until at least late December, perhaps longer. SpaceX and Space…
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Space Force chief says commercial satellites may need defending
Like the US Navy has long protected sea lanes during conflict, the military could be called upon to defend commercial satellites from attack, particularly as the Pentagon relies more on commercial networks for communication and surveillance, the Space Force’s top general said last week. In comments at a conference in Hawaii on September 20, Gen.…
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US spy satellite agency isn’t so silent about new “Silent Barker” mission
9:50 am EDT Tuesday update: The Atlas V rocket has returned to its hangar at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to take shelter from Hurricane Idalia, which is forecast to strike the Florida Gulf Coast this week. This rollback of the rocket likely pushes the launch until no earlier than some time Labor Day weekend. 8:45…
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US spy satellite agency isn’t so silent about new “Silent Barker” mission
9:50 am EDT Tuesday update: The Atlas V rocket has returned to its hangar at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to take shelter from Hurricane Idalia, which is forecast to strike the Florida Gulf Coast this week. This rollback of the rocket likely pushes the launch until no earlier than some time Labor Day weekend. 8:45…
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Israel launches radar spy satellite into retrograde orbit
Israel’s Ofek 13 radar spy satellite lifted off aboard an Israeli-built Shavit 2 launch vehicle. Credit: Israel Ministry of Defense Israel’s military launched a radar spy satellite March 28 from an air base south of Tel Aviv, adding an all-weather observation sentinel to the country’s fleet of intelligence-gathering spacecraft. A solid-fueled Shavit 2 launcher delivered…