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.
In October 2018, the U.S. Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman a $792,000,000 Launch Services Agreement to complete detailed design and verification of the OmegA space launch vehicle and launch sites.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation published a draft environmental assessment on 2020-02-27 regarding SpaceX launch activities from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center and Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Firefly Aerospace planned static-fire tests of the first stage of its Alpha rocket and a first launch later in 2020 from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station will continue to be maintained and supported by the U.S. Air Force after renaming.
Northrop Grumman is investing in people and facilities to meet the Air Force schedule of fielding GBSD in 2029.
The Air Force plans to request an additional $12,000,000,000 for the GBSD program between 2022 and 2025.
AEHF-6 is the sixth and final satellite of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency constellation and is scheduled to lift off 2020-03-19 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Boeing’s April 2019 contract to build an eleventh Wideband Global Communications satellite for the U.S. Air Force was a sole-source award funded by a congressional earmark.
Blue Origin is completing construction of Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to host New Glenn launches.
Northrop Grumman used technicians who work on other vehicles at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to accelerate preparations for the NG-13 launch.
Brig. Gen. D. Jason Cothern was named vice commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base on 2020-02-13.
On 2020-02-12, Sigmatech won a five-year $74,000,000 contract to provide expert support staff to the office of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration.
The $88,000,000 requested in 2021 is part of the Air Force’s $767,000,000 military construction budget and would allow the Air Force to complete the Consolidated Space Operations Facility by March 2022.
The Air Force publishes two-line elements that show spacecraft locations at specific times.
In September 2018 the U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth $7,200,000,000 to build up to 22 GPS 3F satellites.
The Pentagon’s fiscal year 2021 budget request includes $88,000,000 to complete construction of a Consolidated Space Operations Facility at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado.
The $15,400,000,000 request excludes about $800,000,000 in personnel costs that remain in the Air Force budget because the Space Force did not yet have a separate accounting system.
Nearly 20 percent of the $207,000,000,000 Air Force budget request for 2021, or about $38 billion, is passed through to other agencies.
The Air Force requested $20,000,000 in its 2021 military construction budget to begin construction of a space control facility for the Air National Guard at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.
The 2021 budget includes $160,000,000 for the Wide Field of View, a 1,000-kilogram geosynchronous satellite the Air Force will launch in 2020 to advance space-based missile warning research.