Space Alert

The Space Force today successfully launched the third GPS III satellite from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket -- the company's second GPS mission and the Defense Department's launch to include a booster recovery.

The Senate Armed Services Committee's mark of the fiscal year 2021 defense policy bill includes language to establish a space launch capability development program with a $250 million funding ceiling that would help the Air Force inject new technologies for future competition and support industry in meeting launch requirements.

The Air Force needs to partner closely with Congress and other stakeholders as it works to make a case for using digital engineering for future space development programs, according to the service's deputy under secretary for space acquisition and integration.

A new Defense Space Strategy released today highlights four priority lines of effort the Pentagon plans to pursue in order to ensure it is positioned to "compete, deter and win" against future threats: build a comprehensive military advantage in space; integrate military spacepower into national, joint and combined operations; shape the strategic environment; and cooperate with allies, partners, industry and other U.S. government agencies.

The Missile Defense Agency's partnership with commercial space companies to develop and set in orbit nearly two-dozen sensors, a prototype project called the Space-based Kill Assessment, allowed the government to avoid spending $700 million to develop the same capability using traditional acquisition practices, according to a senior MDA official.

The Senate Armed Services Committee's fiscal year 2021 defense authorization bill would bar the Pentagon from complying with the Federal Communications Commission's decision to approve Ligado Networks' L-band network until the Defense Department submits cost estimates associated with potential GPS interference.

The Air Force Research Laboratory is working to use Link 16 to connect satellites with ground-based radios and aims to demonstrate the capability next March.

A new report from the Government Accountability Office highlights risk in the Air Force's plan to launch the first geosynchronous satellite in the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared System constellation by late 2025, calling the plan "highly aggressive and high risk."

The Pentagon will accelerate plans for a new space-based missile defense architecture if Congress increases funding in fiscal year 2021 for the Hypersonic Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor program, which could allow the U.S. military to put the "kernel" of a totally new network on orbit by FY-22, according to a senior Defense Department official.