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.
Orbital Sidekick secured Small Business Innovation Research contracts, funding from the Air Force Strategic Financing program (STRATFI), and investment from In-Q-Tel.
The U.S. Air Force established AFWERX in 2017 to speed adoption of commercial technology for government missions.
The Department of the Air Force submitted a proposal to Congress on 2022-04-01 to establish a regular active-duty U.S. Space Force with full-time and part-time members instead of a dedicated reserve force.
An earlier version of the proposal submitted on 2022-04-01 and rejected by the White House had recommended a two-component construct combining the regular Space Force and Air Force Reserve space professionals into a combined component and creating a single reserve component Space National Guard generated by seamless transition of current Air National Guard units performing space missions.
BlackSky formed a strategic advisory group on 2022-04-04 led by retired Navy vice admiral Joseph Kernan, retired Army general John Mulholland, and retired Air Force colonel Michael Dickey.
DroneShield's offering is validated by deployments with the US Air Force and Australian Army.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Space Development Agency Director Derek Tournear toured York Space Systems’ manufacturing facilities on 2022-04-04.
On 2022-04-04, the Department of the Air Force identified six Space Force bases as candidate locations for the headquarters of the U.S. Space Force’s Space Training and Readiness Command.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall stated that adversary anti-satellite capabilities from countries like Russia and China require the Department of Defense to invest in advanced space systems.
The proposed Space Force budget for fiscal year 2023 includes $1,000,000,000 that was transferred from the Air Force to the Space Force’s military personnel account.
The U.S. Air Force selected BAE Systems, with support from FlexRadio, to provide software defined radios for the Airborne High Frequency Radio Modernization (AHFRM) program.
The U.S. Air Force awarded Orbit Fab a $750,000 Small Business Innovation Research contract last year to flight-qualify the RAFTI port.
The $12,000,000 funding for Orbit Fab’s contract includes $6,000,000 from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force and $6,000,000 from Orbit Fab’s private investors.
The U.S. Air Force, through the AFVentures Strategic Funding Increase program, is supporting development of Tomorrow.io's first four satellites with a $19,300,000 contract.
STSS traces its heritage to an April 2002 U.S. Air Force contract awarded to Northrop Grumman to develop, test, launch, and operate two Low Flight Demonstration System space vehicles and a ground segment at the Missile Defense Space Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The U.S. Air Force started the PTS program in 2018 to develop secure satcom services for government agencies and military forces to reduce dependence on Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellites.
MDA, NASA, and the U.S. Air Force launched the two STSS demonstration space vehicles on 2009-09-25 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida aboard a single Delta II rocket.
The Department of the Air Force’s architecture office, led by Preston Dunlap, oversees nearly $70,000,000,000 of research, development and acquisition programs.
The Air Force technology accelerator AFWERX was created in 2017 to help commercialize technologies and serve national security needs.
The Air Force created the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) in 2017 to attract commercial space startups and small businesses.