US Space Force

A private spacecraft intercepted another during the U.S. Space Force's 'Victus Haze' mission. The mission is described as groundbreaking by the Space Force.

Private companies True Anomaly and Rocket Lab are conducting satellite fly-bys for the U.S. military as part of orbital missions. These operations resemble Top Gun-style exercises for the US Space Force.

The U.S. Southern Command is deploying military resources, including C-17 aircraft and Miami-Dade urban search and rescue teams, to Venezuela for earthquake relief. The mission, requested by the Venezuelan government and led by the U.S. State Department, focuses on restoring air traffic and conducting search-and-rescue operations in affected areas.

China's military newspaper PLA Daily warned of an arms race over low-earth satellites, citing SpaceX's contract with the US Space Force as a contributing factor. The article highlighted the growing importance of low-earth orbit constellations in communications and satellite navigation.

The Pentagon awarded SpaceX a $4.16 billion contract to build missile-tracking satellites for President Donald Trump's 'Golden Dome' defense system. The US Space Force states the satellites will detect and track targets from space, with SpaceX already having other contracts for the Golden Dome.

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket detonated during a static-fire test in Florida, causing a fireball and scattering debris over the sea and coastal scrubland. Teams from Blue Origin, the US Space Force, and NASA are assessing damage and collecting rocket pieces.

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded during a static-fire test, causing a fireball and scattering debris across Florida's coastal area. Teams from Blue Origin, the US Space Force, and NASA will assess damage and collect rocket fragments starting Friday.

The US Space Force awarded SpaceX a $2.29 billion contract to build a low-Earth orbit communications network for military sensing and targeting data distribution. The network, based on Starlink technology and Starshield satellites, aims to create a resilient, high-speed backbone after previous Pentagon projects stalled.

The UK is advancing secure military communications through optical satellite links, with field trials conducted by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) using Archangel Lightworks' TERRA-M system. The portable system achieved high-speed data downloads from LEO satellites and is designed for rapid deployment, with potential future terabit-per-second capabilities. The US Space Force also awarded a $2.29 billion contract to SpaceX for a LEO satellite network.

The US, China, and Russia are operating satellites in geosynchronous orbit to gather information on other spacecraft. The US has been operating 'inspector' satellites for over a decade, while China started launching its own in 2018. Russia has recently joined with its own suspected inspector satellite.

NASA and the US Space Force are launching a mission to investigate Earth's mysterious 'ring current'. The mission includes NASA's STORIE mission mounted to the outside of the ISS. The goal is to find the origin of the 'ring current' phenomenon.

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy returns with upcoming Starship test flights, while Russia's Soyuz-5 debuts. The US Space Force announced 12 companies developing Space-Based Interceptors for the Golden Dome initiative, including SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon, with contracts totaling up to $3.2 billion.

The US Space Force aims to develop space-based missile interceptors for the Golden Dome system by 2028 to enhance missile defense capabilities. The system is designed to intercept ballistic missiles from space.

A US Space Force officer, Major Jason Lowery, argued in a 2023 MIT-published thesis that Bitcoin mining constitutes a form of military power projection. The Department of Defense later suppressed the book through a retroactive security review, halting its distribution and silencing Lowery, despite the thesis remaining accessible online and physical copies fetching high prices.

The US Space Force has awarded contracts to 12 companies, including Anduril Industries, Lockheed Martin, and SpaceX, to develop space-based interceptors for the Golden Dome initiative, a defense system targeting missile and drone threats. The contracts, issued via Other Transaction Authority agreements in late 2025 and early 2026, aim to accelerate prototyping and bypass traditional federal acquisition rules.

The Pentagon has canceled the Global Positioning System Next-Generation Operational Control System (OCX) program after 16 years and billions of dollars, citing insurmountable issues. The program aimed to upgrade the military's GPS satellite navigation network with new software, control stations, and ground monitoring systems.

The US Space Force is considering shifting a significant number of launches from United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket to SpaceX due to recurring technical issues with Vulcan's solid rocket boosters. The Vulcan, which has only completed four flights since 2024, faced two grounding incidents involving exhaust nozzle failures, impacting its reliability amid a 70-launch backlog.