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 awarded contracts for the first three Phase 2 missions to SpaceX and ULA for National Reconnaissance Office payloads.
The Cogswell Award was established in 1966 in honor of Air Force Col. James S. Cogswell.
The Space Force was established on 2019-12-20 as a separate branch of the armed services under the Department of the Air Force.
The Air Force awarded ULA 60% of the Phase 2 missions to be flown over five years and awarded SpaceX the remaining 40% of Phase 2 missions.
The Air Force will terminate the Launch Service Agreement contracts awarded in October 2018 to Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman.
Both the House and Senate versions of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act include provisions for the Air Force to create new partnerships with the launch industry similar to the LSAs.
SpaceX filed a federal lawsuit in 2014 challenging the Air Force’s block buy contract to United Launch Alliance for Atlas 5 and Delta 4 launches.
The Air Force did not commit to buying a preset number of launches under the Phase 2 contracts.
The Department of the Air Force selected United Launch Alliance and SpaceX to launch national security satellites for U.S. military and intelligence agencies for five years starting in 2022.
The U.S. Air Force announced on 2020-08-07 that SpaceX and United Launch Alliance would split the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 contracts for launches between 2022 and 2027.
SpaceX did not secure a Launch Service Agreement award in 2018 that the other three NSSL Phase 2 bidders received from the Air Force.
Vandenberg Air Force Base is seeking to increase its commercial launch activity as more private companies develop launch vehicles.
Vandenberg Air Force Base was established in 1941 and is located on the central coast of California.
The state of California agreed on 2020-08-05 with the U.S. Space Force and others to develop commercial space launch infrastructure at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
The state of California signed a memorandum of understanding with the 30th Space Wing, Cal Poly State University, consulting firm Deloitte, and the economic impact organization REACH to develop a spaceport at Vandenberg Air Force Base and the surrounding area.
ABL plans to offer commercial launch services from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
On 2020-08-03, ABL Space Systems received two U.S. Air Force contracts worth $44,500,000.
The $44,500,000 Air Force contracts include a one-year AFWERX deal to demonstrate launch technology and an agreement with the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Space Enterprise Consortium to conduct three demonstrations of an RS1 vehicle variant and deployable ground infrastructure in 2022.
The Air Force Research Laboratory signed an agreement with ABL that allows the company to test hardware at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
L3Harris will build a navigation satellite for the U.S. Air Force scheduled to be launched to a geosynchronous orbit in 2022.