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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The companies won a $50,000 Air Force study contract on 2020-04-06 to develop a concept for collecting and managing lunar intelligence.
Launcher received a $1,500,000 U.S. Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract at the Air Force Space Pitch Day event in San Francisco in November.
The "space cockpit" ground mission control tool was developed under a separate Air Force Small Business Innovation Research contract awarded to Saber Astronautics in 2019.
The Air Force Small Business Innovation Research December 2019 solicitation seeks commercial innovation to extend space domain awareness responsibilities beyond geosynchronous orbit to support future cislunar operations.
The OSP-4 program is managed by the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Launch Enterprise Small Launch and Targets Division at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.
On 2020-03-30, Brig. Gen. Doug Schiess declared a public health emergency for Patrick Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station due to an increased number of local positive COVID-19 cases.
The 45th Space Wing operates the launch range at Cape Canaveral and Patrick Air Force Base, Florida.
The U.S. Air Force Small Business Innovation Research office posted a solicitation on 2020-03-30 that includes COVID-19 countermeasures as an area of interest.
Some Air Force SBIR programs require matching funds from private investors, but the 2020-03-30 solicitation allows companies to compete for $1,000,000 Air Force awards without private matching funds being required.
Proposals for the 2020-03-30 Air Force SBIR solicitation are due 2020-04-30.
Implementing the 2020 NDAA language would require the Air Force to break up the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition led by Will Roper and create a co-equal separate office to oversee space programs.
The goal is to transfer 23 Air Force units and 1,840 Air Force billets located at bases in Colorado, California, Nevada, Ohio, New Mexico, and Maryland from the Air Force into the Space Force within the next three to six months as of 2020-03-31.
Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett is in the final stages of reviewing the report and is expected to sign it 2020-03-30 before it goes to the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the White House for final approval.
Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett, Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond, and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David Goldfein will work jointly to execute the transfers when the necessary conditions have been met.
Raytheon will deliver a fully qualified Block 1 software baseline capable of operating the GPS constellation to the Air Force in early 2021.
The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act directs the Secretary of the Air Force to nominate an Assistant Secretary for Space Acquisition and Integration to oversee all space acquisitions.
The Space and Missile Systems Center plans to order as many as 1,500 Block 1 modems for the Air Force and the Army in the coming years.
The U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center awarded contracts each worth up to $500,000,000 to Raytheon and L3Harris to develop and produce cyber secure satellite communications modems for the Department of the Air Force and the Army.
The Office of the Secretary of the Air Force is investigating adapting a secret-level communications system developed for battlefield use to allow acquisition professionals to access classified data from National Security Agency-approved phones or tablets.
The 20th Space Control Squadron provides data to the 18th Space Control Squadron located at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.