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 Department of Defense completed the Wideband Communications Services Analysis of Alternatives (Wideband AoA) study in June 2018.
The addition of one or two more WGS satellites provides the Department of Defense extra time to implement the Wideband AoA recommendations.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 directs the Department of Defense to deliver to Congress a study by March 2020 for acquiring tactical responsive launch capabilities using commercial vehicles and facilities.
The 2019 Air Force small launch directorate missions also included STP-27RD aboard a Rocket Lab Electron, an MDA intercept flight test FTT-23 of the THAAD system, and a flight test of a prototype conventionally configured ground-launched ballistic missile for the Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office.
The conference report supports a discretionary topline of $738,000,000,000 for the Department of Defense consistent with the bipartisan budget agreement.
Under Space Policy Directive 3, the Department of Defense is still required to maintain the authoritative satellite catalog that forms the foundation of the catalog the Department of Commerce will maintain.
The Pentagon cannot create the Space Force while operating under a continuing resolution.
The Air Force Space Command assumed responsibility for procuring commercial satcom services for the Department of Defense in December 2018 by congressional mandate.
The Air Force is working with the Pentagon to address concerns raised by the GAO about the Space C2 program.
The Government Accountability Office released an 2019-10-30 report criticizing the Space C2 program for lacking an acquisition strategy and calling for greater Pentagon oversight.
The Pentagon’s 2020 budget requested nearly $150,000,000 for the Space Development Agency, including $44,700,000 for personnel, $20,000,000 for space research and development, and $85,000,000 for space technology prototyping.
Congress had not yet approved the Pentagon’s requested 2020 funding for the Space Development Agency because federal spending bills for 2020 had not been passed.
In a draft fiscal year 2021 budget proposal under review by Department of Defense leaders, the Space Development Agency seeks nearly $11,000,000,000 over five years to plan, design, and deploy large constellations of satellites for military use.
U.S. law passed in 2015 requires the Department of Defense to end its reliance on Russian rocket engines, limiting DoD purchases of Atlas V launches through 2022.
It is unclear whether the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act will authorize the Department of Defense to establish a U.S. Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces.
The Army will work with the Pentagon’s Space Development Agency, which plans to develop a large communications constellation in LEO known as a transport layer.
Senate appropriators funded the Department of Defense’s requested amount of $72,400,000 for the Space Force.
Stephen Kitay identified Senate language as problematic because it does not provide the authorities the Department of Defense would need to establish an independent military service.
In March, the Pentagon formally established the Space Development Agency to develop, demonstrate, and experiment with technologies and architectures aimed at leapfrogging current space systems.
Air Force Space Command took over responsibility in December for procuring the Defense Department’s commercial satellite communications services from the Defense Information Systems Agency.