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 Falcon 9 launched the Telkom Indonesia Merah Putih satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base at 1:18 a.m. Eastern.
Stratolaunch and some other new launch providers will offer U.S. agencies alternative routes to orbit if operations at California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base and Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station are disrupted.
The Air Force and Army have expressed a desire to update ranges for many years, but face challenges such as the need to continuously test Cold War-era systems.
Hyten highlighted that satellite processing facilities at Vandenberg and Patrick Air Force Base are significant financial assets.
Air Force Gen. John Hyten stated that the U.S. government continues to invest in aging launch ranges while delaying necessary modernization.
The Falcon 9 for the SSO-A mission will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and place 71 small satellites into sun-synchronous orbit.
The newest 10 Iridium Next satellites launched on 2018-07-25 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and were scheduled to start operation over August and early September.
Firefly selected Space Launch Complex 2 West (SLC-2W) at Vandenberg via an agreement with the U.S. Air Force to use the pad after the Delta 2’s final launch in mid-September.
Methera plans to place 16 satellites in 18,000-kilometer polar orbits approximately 2,0 m below U.S. Air Force GPS satellites.
Virgin Orbit has hosted multiple Air Force leaders at its factory, including Air Mobility Command commander General Carlton Everhart.
The Air Force expects tens of thousands of commercial satellites providing electro-optical, infrared, radar, and hyperspectral imagery to be mapping the globe in minutes and available for commercial purchase within the next two to four years.
LauncherOne is scheduled to conduct its first military mission in 2019 as part of the DoD Space Test Program overseen by the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center.
After Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea, the U.S. Congress directed the Air Force to phase out use of the Russian RD-180 first-stage engine in ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket by 2022.
The Air Force intended to develop at least three launch system prototypes and narrow the field to two competitors by 2020 under the LSA program.
The draft report presented the Space Development Agency as an entity related to replacing the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, a 5,000-person organization based in Los Angeles that oversees a $6,000,000,000 space portfolio.
The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2019 directs the Air Force to make Air Force Space Command a sub-unified command under U.S. Strategic Command.
The Air Force created a Hosted Payload Office in 2011 to provide expertise and tools to match government payloads with commercial hosts.
Passing all AFMC C-17 MACC tests demonstrates the GMA 5560-101 antenna’s ability to become fully certified for USAF and FMS C-17 platforms.
Viasat’s GMA 5560-101 completed the U.S. Air Force Materiel Command C-17 Modified Airworthiness Certification Criteria testing.
A new Air Force constellation of early warning launch detection satellites had a target delivery date of 2029 but has been accelerated so new satellites can be deployed by 2025.