STEP 2.0 will fill an existing gap in the Space Test Program’s ability to procure and launch science-and-technology payloads, according to the Space Force.
Rendering of Northrop Grumman’s GAS-T design that will leverage an ESPAStar-D satellite platform to add fuel and extend the life of in-orbit assets. (Northrop Grumman image)
The efforts are driven in part by U.S. Space Command’s shift towards “dynamic space operations” — the ability to easily, continuously and quickly maneuver on-orbit satellites.
The successful review paves the way for six satellites — part of Epoch 1 of the service’s Resilient Missile Warning and Missile Tracking-MEO (MEO MW/MT) program —…
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket with the SILENTBARKER/NROL-107 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and United States Space Force rolls from the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. (United Launch Alliance photo)
Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Englehardt, the noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the operations section for the 142nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, which is deployed to support 1st Theater Sustainment Command, gauges wind speed near the Camp Buehring, Kuwait, drop zone for the April 22, 2021 air drop of four bundles using the Joint Precision Air Delivery System, JPADS. Englehardt said JPADS uses the Modular Autonomous Guidance Unit, or MAGU, to manipulate the the parafoil’s rigging to steer it using GPS to reach its programmed coordinates. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Neil W. McCabe)
Edward Ramey, space domain characterization common operating picture segment (SDCCS) lead integration and training support for the Joint Task Force-Space Defense, looks at a computer screen at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado, Dec. 19, 2022. Through the partnering of the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community and National Reconnaissance Office in the National Space Defense Center, JTF-SD brings to bear the full force of the U.S. Government and synchronizes space superiority planning and operations. (U.S. Space Force photo by Tiana Williams)
At the Space Symposium, National Reconnaissance Office Director Chris Scolese emphasized that the NRO is integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning widely across the organization.