The Department of Defense (DOD) is a U.S. government agency responsible for military and national security space activities. It acts as a major procurer and operator of space systems, including launch vehicles and satellite systems for reconnaissance, missile launch detection, navigation, and communication. The DOD aims to maintain space superiority, integrate military space power, and ensure space stability, working with commercial firms to integrate space solutions into national security architectures.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
The U.S. Department of Defense has increasingly used Other Transaction Authority agreements to bypass standard Federal Acquisition Regulation restrictions.
Volta Space Technologies is working with the Pentagon on military applications.
Space Systems Command awarded Starfish Space a $37.5 million contract to build an Otter spacecraft for the U.S. Department of Defense.
The fiscal 2027 defense budget proposal would bring total resources for the Department of Defense to $1.5 trillion.
The Department of Defense’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal includes $1.15 trillion in discretionary spending and $350 billion in mandatory spending.
The fiscal 2027 defense budget proposal would represent a 44% increase for the Department of Defense.
A January 2026 Government Accountability Office report found that the Department of Defense lacks a reliable life-cycle cost estimate for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.
The White House released a $1.5 trillion Department of Defense budget request.
The Pentagon has already awarded over $4.7 billion for the first 101 satellites in the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.
The Pentagon plans to invest roughly $35 billion in the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture through fiscal year 2029.
Antaris saw increasing demand from commercial operators and the U.S. Department of Defense for ISR and communications satellite missions in the year before March 31, 2026.
The Pentagon’s chief digital and AI officer said the Maven targeting platform compressed what previously took hours into minutes.
K2 Space’s Gravitas mission will include 12 undisclosed modules from several customers, including the Department of Defense.
K2 Space’s Gravitas satellite is hosting 12 undisclosed payloads from multiple customers, including the U.S. Department of Defense.
By 1976, National Reconnaissance Office payloads constituted 30% to 35% of the total Department of Defense payloads designated for the Space Shuttle.
The extended PExT operations are intended to provide a blueprint for the Department of Defense’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture and NASA’s planned transition to a commercial-first communication framework by 2031.
The Pentagon formally enlisted Lockheed Martin, RTX, and Northrop Grumman as additional prime contractors alongside SpaceX for Golden Dome in March 2026.
Charles Cook directed that the Department of Defense maintain an expendable launcher capability as a backup to Shuttle missions.
The Pentagon expanded its Golden Dome cost estimate to $185 billion in March 2026.
The Pentagon added a $10 billion space-specific acceleration package targeting HBTSS, the Space Data Network, and SB-AMTI in March 2026.