missile defense

Space Development Agency to acquire 28 missile-tracking satellites to launch in late 2024
The Pentagon’s Space Development Agency is planning a new procurement of satellites that will be part of a global constellation of missile-tracking space sensors.

Valley Tech Systems wins $94 million missile defense contract
Valley Tech Systems, a firm recently acquired by Voyager Space, won a $94 million contract from Lockheed Martin to provide a solid propulsion subsystem for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s Next Generation Interceptor.

Space Force general: U.S. has a lot of catching up to do on hypersonic missile technology
“We're not as advanced as the Chinese or the Russians in terms of hypersonic programs,” Gen. David Thompson said Nov. 20. at the Halifax International Security Forum.

Northrop Grumman’s missile-tracking satellite passes critical design review
A satellite designed by Northrop Grumman to track hypersonic and ballistic missiles has passed a critical design review.

Millennium Space sees opportunities in missile defense satellites
Millennium, a satellite manufacturer owned by the Boeing Co., hopes to parlay the experienced gained from the Wide Field of View project into larger contracts.

L3Harris’ missile-tracking satellites pass early design review
L3Harris announced Sept. 20 that the Space Development Agency has approved the company’s proposed design for a missile tracking satellite.

L3Harris opens manufacturing facility in Indiana for DoD missile-defense satellites
L3Harris Technologies on Sept. 16 opened a classified facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where the company will assemble and test satellites for U.S. missile-defense programs.

Hyten: To counter hypersonic missiles DoD needs ‘overhead sensors that see everything’
Sensors in space that can detect and track hypersonic missiles should be at the top of DoD’s wish list, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten said Aug. 11.

U.S. Army space commander concerned about disruptions to satellites
Speaking at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium at the Von Braun Convention Center, Karbler said adversaries are developing electronic and cyber tools to deny the U.S. military access to satellites in orbit.

DoD experiment flying to International Space Station to collect data for missile-tracking sensors
A Northrop Grumman spacecraft scheduled to launch Aug. 10 on a resupply mission to the International Space Station will carry a Space Development Agency experiment.

Missile Defense Agency confirms deployment of cubesats launched by Virgin Orbit
Two Missile Defense Agency cubesats launched June 30 on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne successfully began communicating with ground stations last week, the agency announced July 12.

Space Force, DoD agencies planning multi-orbit sensor network to track hypersonic missiles
he U.S. Space Force last month selected Millennium Space Systems and Raytheon to design sensors that can track hypersonic missiles from medium Earth orbit.

DoD agencies to invest more than $1 billion in low-Earth orbit space technologies
The Biden administration’s defense budget proposal for fiscal year 2022 seeks more than $1.2 billion for military space systems in low-Earth orbit.

Northrop Grumman and L3Harris to build sensor satellites for Missile Defense Agency
The Missile Defense Agency awarded Northrop Grumman a $155 million contract Jan. 22. L3Harris received a $121 million contract Jan. 14.

Anti-war groups take aim at Space Force, ICBMs, missile defense
A group of progressive and anti-war organizations called for the elimination of the Space Force and the cancellation of the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent.

Space Development Agency to deploy hypersonic missile defense satellites by 2022
A June 5 solicitation for a “tracking phenomenology experiment” is a step in the development of a sensor network in space to track hypersonic missiles.

Space startup developing technology to detect hypersonic missiles
Rhea Space Activity and Lunar Resources pitched to the Air Force a concept to deploy two spacecraft to manufacture a large mirror in space.

Missile Defense Agency selects four companies to develop space sensors
Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Leidos and L3Harris will develop competing prototypes.

Pentagon seeking proposals for how to use sensors in space to quickly target enemy missiles
DoD wants space sensors that can be counted on to work even in adverse conditions like solar activity, radiation belts and orbital debris.

Pentagon’s Missile Defense Review unenthusiastic about Star Wars weapons
One of the surprises of the 2019 Missile Defense Review is that it did not cheer the use of weapons in space.