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.
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On May 19, 2023, Rep. Mike Rogers sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall requesting the preservation of all documentation concerning the selection of Space Command's headquarters location.
Zeno Power Systems was awarded a $30,000,000 contract to build a radioisotope-powered satellite for the U.S. Air Force by 2025.
A C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the 436th Airlift Wing, Dover Air Force Base, landed at Yokota Air Base, Japan on 2023-05-10 while assisting Space Systems Command in delivering a second payload for QZSS.
Orbit Logic and Chooch were awarded a USAF Phase II SBIR to develop the Cloud-based Automated Satellite Tactical Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination (CASTT) system.
When the U.S. Space Force was established in December 2019, active duty space units were moved out of the Air Force and placed in the Space Force without creating a corresponding Space National Guard component.
The Air National Guard has roughly 1,000 members who perform space operations duties such as controlling communications and missile warning satellites and operating electronic warfare systems.
The Air National Guard provides 60% of the deployable space electromagnetic warfare units that support U.S. combatant commands around the world.
The Department of the Air Force drafted a March 2021 report recommending establishing a Space National Guard with minimal or no new cost and transferring space-duty units under the Air National Guard.
Above: Space Development Corporation was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase I Award from the United States Air Force to develop a solar heated crucible for the manufacturing of lightweight, thin-film solar photovoltaics on-orbit.
The United States Air Force has an operational need to deploy lightweight, robust, and affordable solar photovoltaic systems globally and in space to support uncrewed aerial vehicles, forward operating bases, and space-based power beaming.
The U.S. Navy’s Multi-Mission Tactical Unmanned Air System program team (PMA-266) at Pax River leveraged the U.S. Air Force’s Agile Reaper Enterprise Solution (ARES) to procure MQ-9 Reaper aircraft, associated spares, and support equipment for the Marine Corps.
The U.S. Marine Corps received the first of eight MQ-9 Reaper aircraft delivered under a joint contract with the U.S. Air Force.
L3Harris received a U.S. Air Force task order award via the Data Link Enterprise indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to develop a Common Tactical Edge Network.
CTEN will initially connect U.S. Air Force aerial platforms that currently operate with incongruent network architectures.
The NTS-3 ground control system was developed by Parsons Corporation and will be operated at the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate headquarters at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.
The U.S. Air Force plans to launch NTS-3 in fiscal year 2024 to begin testing an end-to-end space-based prototype across space, ground, and user equipment segments.
The 2023-04-27 contract was the second $1,250,000 Air Force SBIR contract awarded to Albedo in the last year.
The Department of the Air Force’s derived formula includes a tenet to build smaller systems by producing smaller satellites and using existing technology to minimize non-recurring engineering and shorten development timelines.
Light Steering Technologies won a $1,250,000 U.S. Air Force contract for angular pointing technology with small satellite applications.
HII’s Mission Technologies division was awarded a $995,000,000 contract to provide Advisory and Assistance Services for the U.S. Air Forces in Europe–Air Forces Africa (USAFE‑AFAFRICA).