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 2023 NDAA does not authorize a Space National Guard and would consider establishing the Space Force as a single component with full-time and part-time members as proposed by Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall.
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory launched an experiment in 2020 aboard the Air Force’s X-37B space plane that captured sunlight and converted it into direct current electrical energy.
The SWOT satellite launched on 2022-12-16 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Prior to the U.S. Air Force certifying SpaceX’s Falcon 9 for national security launches in 2015, United Launch Alliance was the U.S. military’s only launch provider.
CTEN is a milestone for Raytheon Intelligence & Space to advance the U.S. Air Force's alignment with the DOD's JADC2 vision.
Raytheon Technologies was selected as an industry partner for the U.S. Air Force's ABMS Digital Infrastructure Consortium.
Raytheon Intelligence & Space has been selected to develop a Common Tactical Edge Network (CTEN) for the U.S. Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System.
U.S. Air Force and community leaders cut the ribbon for the High-Power Electromagnetic Effects and Modeling (HPEM) Facility at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, on 2022-12-07.
In 2021 the U.S. Air Force awarded SpiderOak a Small Business Innovation Research contract to test OrbitSecure on military satellites and ground stations.
Frank Calvelli is the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration.
The U.S. Air Force has purchased Starlink services to support units in Europe and Africa.
The U.S. Air Force created the Mission Manifest Office in 2018 to maximize rideshare opportunities on national security space missions.
Hermeus is partnering with the U.S. Air Force and NASA to develop a series of autonomous aircraft to de-risk hypersonic technology.
Gen. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, frames the OTV-6 mission as highlighting the Space Force’s focus on collaboration in space exploration and expanding low-cost access to space for partners within and outside the Department of the Air Force.
Lt. Col. Joseph Fritschen, X-37B Program Director in the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, emphasizes that the X-37B enables on-orbit experiments to be returned safely for in-depth ground analysis and that the OTV-6 service module allowed hosting more experiments than previous missions.
Orbital Test Vehicle 6 was the sixth mission of the crewless reusable X-37B spaceplane built by Boeing and jointly operated by the U.S. Space Force and the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.
Each WSF-M satellite is estimated to cost $511,000,000 according to the Department of the Air Force.
Since the Air Force selected Ball Aerospace in 2017, Ball Aerospace has received awards worth about $417,300,000 for WSF-M.
Gen. B. Chance Saltzman assumed command of the U.S. Space Force by accepting the flag from Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall at a transition ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 2022-11-02.
A third Ministry of Defence uses the Evolution platform to provide connectivity for its army, navy, air force, special ground forces, and public sector organizations.