The U.S. Air Force (USAF) plays a significant role in the space industry, historically serving as the Department of Defense's executive agent for space, and developing early military space programs and launch vehicles. Although the U.S. Space Force was established as an independent branch in 2019, the Air Force continues to contribute to space operations, including training personnel, research and development, and maintaining partnerships. The USAF's space-related activities encompass satellite operations, missile warning, communication support, and collaboration with allies to ensure regional stability. Key partners include the U.S. Space Force, other branches of the military, and international allies.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
When the Air Force chooses its two providers in 2020, the winners stand to earn billions of dollars to launch military and intelligence satellites.
Congress in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act allowed the Air Force to order up to 18 Atlas 5 missions between 2016-12-23 and 2022-12-31.
Lockheed Martin is developing the first of three OPIR Block 0 geostationary satellites that the Air Force plans to begin launching in 2025.
The Pentagon proposed creating a Space Force headquarters under the Air Force led by a four-star chief of staff who would be a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a civilian undersecretary of the Air Force for space.
The Air Force identified a need to reprogram $632,000,000 into its 2019 budget to meet the 2025 launch schedule for the first OPIR Block 0 satellite.
The SASC bill expands the responsibilities of the principal assistant to the secretary of the Air Force for space by creating the position of principal assistant to the secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration.
The committee agreed with the Department of Defense recommendation to establish the U.S. Space Force within the U.S. Air Force.
Viasat received a U.S. Air Force contract on 2019-05-22 to build a small satellite equipped with a Link 16 military communications terminal to operate in low Earth orbit.
SpaceX sued the Air Force in 2013 over the Air Force’s decision to award United Launch Alliance a bulk purchase of launches instead of allowing competitive bids.
In Phase 2 the Air Force will select two suppliers in 2020 to start launching payloads in 2022.
The Air Force awarded LSA cost-sharing contracts of $500,000,000 to Blue Origin, $967,000,000 to United Launch Alliance, and $762,000,000 to Northrop Grumman.
Relativity Space’s goal is to 3D print engines in 60 days and charge $10,000,000 to send 1,250 kg to low Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The Air Force requested $1,200,000,000 to procure four launches in fiscal year 2020 and $432,000,000 to continue funding next-generation vehicles under the Launch Service Agreement program, and the House Appropriations Committee fully funded the request.
SpaceX filed an objection to the Air Force’s 2019-10-10 LSA awards on 2018-12-10, and the Space and Missile Systems Center officially denied SpaceX’s objection on 2019-04-18.
On 2019-05-21, the U.S. Air Force awarded Olis Robotics a $50,000 Phase I Small Business Innovative Research award to explore application of its software for satellite servicing.
The Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a $462,000,000 contract in December to upgrade the Operational Control System to allow operation of the GPS III constellation until 2025.
OCX setbacks required the Air Force to fund upgrades to the existing Operational Control System made by Lockheed Martin at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The U.S. Air Force has limited funding allocated for development testing and seeks to collaborate with other government agencies, including NASA, to pool resources for development testing.
Under the latest agreement with the Air Force, Raytheon must deliver a complete OCX system by June 2021.
The Air Force requested $380,000,000 for the OCX program in fiscal year 2020 and projects the program will cost an additional $1,100,000,000 through 2024.