Department of Defense Archives

November Space Council Meetings Could Shape Commercial Regulations

The National Space Council asked for comment on new commercial space systems and how the commercial space sector could be regulated during a pair of online meetings set for November. The council wants input from industry and the public. The move is part of a Biden Administration push to deal with issues including crowded orbits and the safety of space tourists.

U.S. Defense Strategy Document Pledges Commercial Space Protection

In a first-of-its-kind shift in stated strategy, the Biden Administration pledged, in a document that outlines Pentagon plans, to protect growing American commercial interests in space while advancing military space capabilities and international cooperation in orbit. Military space has returned to the spotlight in recent years after a slump that accompanied the end of the Cold War.

Rivals Launch Military Satellites Amid U.S.-led Space Defense Drills

A flurry of military and intelligence satellite launches by rival powers this month came as the United States and two dozen partner nations wrapped up the largest global space defense wargame in history.

Russia launched what some leaders have described as a spy satellite for Iran and its own on-orbit snooping satellite Cosmos-2558, which is circling Earth in an orbit conspicuously close to a recently launched U.S. National Reconnaissance Office satellite, a Netherlands researcher confirmed.

Solving Space Junk Problem Could Net Federal Prize

A grand prize could be in the offing for inventors who come up with new methods to prevent orbiting debris or design tools that can clean up space junk, according to recommendations from the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Pentagon Nominates Domain Awareness Expert to Lead Space Force

One of the U.S. military’s top experts in space domain awareness has been nominated to become the Pentagon’s second Chief of Space Operations. Lt. Gen. Chance “Salty” Saltzman was nominated Thursday to take the space service’s top job. If his promotion is confirmed by the Senate, Saltzman will have rocketed in three years from wearing a single star to pinning four to his uniform.

Partisan Fight Threatens to Delay Pentagon, Space Force Budget

Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee sent warning signals on Wednesday that the Pentagon’s $762 billion spending plan for 2023 could snag in the Senate over hot-button policy provisions. . .

U.S. Joins Allies in Space Operations ‘Vision’

By Tom Roeder troeder@spacefoundation.org A shared space operations vision accord now binds the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia and New Zealand, the Pentagon announced Tuesday. The Combined Space Operations Vision 2031 accord commits the seven nations to a code of conduct in space, including a mission to “generate and improve cooperation, coordination,…