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.
The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center plans to begin development testing with small precursor missions sized around various derivatives of Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapters that range from roughly 180 to 400 kg.
The Air Force has spent about $5,500,000,000 on OCX over the past decade.
United Launch Alliance received a U.S. Air Force contract modification on 2019-05-09 for a Delta IV Heavy launch of the NROL-68 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.
The Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force were tasked in fiscal year 2019 with developing an integrated architecture and acquisition strategy for wideband and narrowband military satellite communications.
The House Appropriations Committee included a legislative provision requiring the Space Development Agency and the Air Force to lay out a plan to develop a unified and integrated space architecture.
This proposed change would be the first major change to the Air Force personnel system since the service was created in 1947.
The reprogramming included $164,800,000 taken from the Air Force account designated for EELV launch services.
The reprogramming included $44,900,000 taken from EELV Launch Capability accounts that fund payments directly to United Launch Alliance to support Air Force requirements.
Senate appropriators in July 2018 proposed a $300,000,000 cut from the Air Force EELV budget on the basis that the launch money for STP-4 was early to need.
The reprogrammed funds were taken from personnel and procurement accounts, including $209,700,000 from the Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program, which has been renamed National Security Space Launch.
Iceye launched its second radar satellite, Iceye-X2, in December on a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center awarded United Launch Alliance a $149,000,000 contract modification on 2019-05-09 for a Delta 4 Heavy launch of the National Reconnaissance Office mission NROL-68.
An Air Force memo documents negotiated savings of approximately $27,500,000 per launch for the three Delta 4 Heavy missions.
The Air Force awarded SpaceX a $130,000,000 contract in June for a Falcon Heavy launch of the AFSPC-52 spacecraft in 2020.
The Canadian government decided in 2015 to proceed with the MEOSAR project to provide search-and-rescue repeaters for the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation Global Positioning System satellites.
MDA was selected by the Canadian government to design, build, and deliver 10 search-and-rescue repeaters for the Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (MEOSAR) system to be hosted on the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation GPS satellites.
The 2019-05-08 Congressional Budget Office report estimated that standing up an independent Space Force under the Air Force, a U.S. Space Command and a Space Development Agency would increase Department of Defense annual costs by $1,100,000,000 to $1,900,000,000 and incur one-time costs of $1,800,000,000 to $4,700,000,000.
The Air Force determined United Launch Alliance was the only certified launch service provider capable of providing launch services for NROL-68, NROL-70, and NROL-91.
The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act reassigned the principal space adviser role from Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson to Patrick Shanahan and directed him to study ways to reorganize the Department of Defense space enterprise.
NROL-91 is planned to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.