Space Alert

At the behest of President Trump, the Pentagon has begun taking immediate steps to establish a sixth branch of the U.S. military -- a Space Force -- by 2020, though its creation requires congressional authorization, according to a new report provided to Congress.

The head of U.S. Strategic Command says developing and deploying space-based sensors to track ballistic missiles can be "quite affordable," in part due to new "commercial elements," despite cost concerns quashing past efforts to develop such a capability.

President Trump's order for a new Space Force has largely been viewed as a boost of momentum for what has, to date, been a bipartisan congressional effort to reorganize the national security space enterprise. But some defense experts are signaling concern that Trump's endorsement and involvment threaten to politicize the effort.

House and Senate authorizers fell short of endorsing the president's call for a Space Force in their compromise defense policy bill, but lawmakers do propose a number of provisions to streamline space acquisition and establish a strong space warfighting cadre within the Defense Department.

The Missile Defense Agency is working to better integrate its sensors with those owned by the broader national security space community to track hypersonic missiles, according to an MDA official.

The Air Force expects all of its certified space launch providers to transition to a new Automated Flight Safety System by the end of 2023, according to a new report, and the service is working with missile test programs to overcome challenges associated with adopting the new system.

The head of the Missile Defense Agency said today the focus and streamlined decision-making that would likely come with the creation of a Space Force would assist his agency's mission.

The lawmaker leading efforts within Congress to reorganize the military space enterprise under a separate service told Inside Defense this week that while President Trump's direction to establish a Space Force will give momentum to ongoing efforts, the fiscal year 2019 defense policy bill will not likely authorize the creation of a new military service.

The head of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center said today the service is working with Boeing to use commercial approaches to buy the 11th and 12th Wideband Global Satellite Communications space vehicles.