WASHINGTON: It was fitting that North Korea launched another missile over northern Japan just hours after Sen. John McCain appears to have won a substantial victory with today’s cloture vote apparently clearing the way for passage of the Senate version of the defense policy bill. Among the most interesting changes, one that was not unexpected,… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Tired of complaining about space programs that are over budget and behind schedule? Build a space version of the Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office. Oh, and just go out there and lead. You don’t need a Space Corps to fix what ails the space enterprise, former Air Force Space Commander Bob Kehler told a… Keep reading →

OMAHA: Strategic Command chief Gen. John Hyten today confirmed, more than two months after news first broke of a shift, that he’s ordered a series of sweeping changes at STRATCOM. Basically, he got rid of the Joint Functional Component Commands for space, global strike, cyber, integrated missile defense, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and whittled them… Keep reading →

PENTAGON: The big news on the 2018 Air Force space budget: it grew at least $1.5 billion. That’s a large increase considering the total budget request is $10.4 billion. For perspective, the entire Defense Department space budget last year — known as the space Major Force Program — was $22 billion. The Air Force oversees the vast… Keep reading →

UPDATED: Adds AFSPC Head Raymond’s HASC Statement Confirming JFCC Elevation CAPITOL HILL: Buried in the minutiae of the Senate Armed Service’s Committee’s space hearing is an important shift for space warfighting and acquisition. Here it is: “… AFSPC/CC has been elevated to the Joint Force Component Commander for Space (JFCC Space) … in essence a 4-star… Keep reading →

SPACE SYMPOSIUM: If war breaks out between the United States and a competitor like China, it will almost certainly be fought in space, just as it would be fought on land, at sea and in the air, the head of Air Force Space Command said in an interview. “Space is a warfighting domain just like… Keep reading →

SPACE SYMPOSIUM: The head of Air Force Space Command, Gen. Jay Raymond, unveiled major changes here to how the Air Force manages space, including creation of a new position on the Air Staff similar to the A-10, who oversees nuclear issues. “A new three-star deputy chief of staff for space, known as the ‘A-11,’ will… Keep reading →

CORRECTED: Role of U.S. Space Command CAPITOL HILL: It’s a refrain space warriors have heard before: the Air Force should head space training and operations, and we need to fix space acquisition. “In this light, we are eager to be named the lead service for space,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein told the… Keep reading →

    Star Wars it ain’t, but the Pentagon is increasingly anxious over threats to its satellites, as we’ve reported frequently in recent years. But in this op-ed, scholars Joan Johnson-Freese and Theresa Hitchens argue that war in space is dangerously overhyped. — the editors In the last two years, we’ve seen rising hysteria over… Keep reading →

UPDATED: ADDS SMC Statement; 45th Space Wing Statement WASHINGTON: Elon Musk’s SpaceX faces a stark accounting after today’s explosion of a Falcon 9 rocket during engine testing at Cape Canaveral. Hopeful of greatly increased business with Air Force Space Command, who has already awarded one contract to Musk’s company for the second GPS III satellite… Keep reading →