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  • The hatch opens on a United Launch Alliance barge, known as the RocketShip, revealing a Delta IV Heavy booster May 4, 2020, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The barge docked at Vandenberg AFB to offload the final Delta IV Heavy booster for an upcoming launch scheduled to occur later this year. The barge operation is a vital first step to executing the mission of assured access to space. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Aubree Owens)

    RocketShip delivers third Delta IV Heavy booster at VAFB

    The barge docked at Vandenberg AFB to offload the final Delta IV Heavy booster for an upcoming launch scheduled to occur later this year. The barge operation is a vital first step to executing the mission of assured access to space.
  • Beale AFB Upgraded Early Warning Radar System

    21 SW enlisted keep critical USSF asset training churning during worldwide pandemic

     One of the 21st Space Wing Operations Group’s smallest geographically separated units has been the lynchpin keeping the Air Force’s Upgraded Early Warning Radar system operational. Twenty-First OG’s Operations Support Squadron’s ’s Detachment 1, located at Beale Air Force Base, California, operates the direct training pipeline that feeds radar
  • An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during a developmental test at 12:33 a.m. Pacific Time Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Clayton Wear)

    Minuteman III test launch on schedule, mission ready amid pandemic

    There is no question about it - the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) mission is a unique portion of the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) nuclear enterprise. Even as the nation is battling the COVID-19 pandemic, the nuclear mission requires a 24/7/365 work force that is always ready and reliable.Operational tests of unarmed Minuteman
  • graphic with words United States Space Force

    Space Force Acquisition Council looks to safeguard space industrial base from COVID-19 impacts

    In response to COVID-19, the Department of the Air Force is posturing to identify and provide support to the space industrial base, assessing sectors most impacted by the pandemic while creating an environment where companies in need can compete fairly in the event of supplemental federal relief funds.
  • A Digital Directorate team at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., used an emulation tech refresh process to ensure reliability for space domain awareness. (U.S. Air Force graphic)

    Emulation ensures reliability for space domain awareness

    A Digital Directorate team located at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is working to ensure the Air Force’s space catalog system stays up-to-date. The Space Defense Operations Center system has decades-old hardware, much reaching its end-of-life, and as space gets more contested and congested, program personnel, along with the prime contractor, wanted to ensure reliability.
  • AEHF-6 Launch

    Department of the Air Force commissioned RAND Space Launch Market Report released

    Last summer, the Department of the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center Launch Enterprise requested a RAND Corp. study of the heavy lift launch market. The RAND study, released today, confirms the heavy lift launch market is unlikely to support more than two U.S. launch providers in the long term, and highlights the short term schedule
  • Lockheed Martin GPS III (SV 01-10) Satellite

    GPS celebrates 25th year of operation

    The Global Positioning System, better known as GPS, marks its 25th year of operation Apr. 27, 2020. On this date in 1995, the system reached full operational capability, meaning the system met all performance requirements.  U.S. Air Force Space Command formally announced the milestone three months later.  “This is a major milestone,” Gen. Thomas S.
  • The License Reimbursement program allows Airmen’s spouses to recoup up to $1,000 following permanent changes of station or address. Licenses and certifications that qualify for the program vary by state, but the program covers a variety of qualifying costs including exam and registration fees, background checks and more. (U.S. Air Force graphic by Marcus Hill)

    Spouses can recoup licensure fees after PCS, PCA

    Service members and their spouses have the opportunity to save money following permanent changes of station or address through the Department of Defense’s Licensure Reimbursement Program.
  • SBIRS GEO-5 Vacuum Testing

    SBIRS GEO-5 Space Vehicle Enters Critical Thermal Vacuum Testing

    The Space and Missile Systems Center’s next Space Based Infrared System satellite (SBIRS GEO-5) reached a major milestone on its the road to launch when Thermal Vacuum (TVAC) testing began on April 16 at Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Sunnyvale, California. SBIRS GEO-5 is a high-priority U.S. Space Force program that provides worldwide
  • Space X’s Crew Dragon, shown here with its solar arrays deployed during its first re-flight to the International Space Station for NASA. During a presentation on SpaceX’s latest developments and future launches shared to 50th Wing Staff Agency Airmen on April 17, the Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, elaborated on the design and technologic advancements featured on the spacecraft.

    Japanese astronaut prepares for flight aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon

    Four 50th Wing Staff Agency Airmen attended a SpaceX briefing on its latest developments and future travel plans to the International Space Station, by Soichi Noguchi, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut, at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, April 17. Col. Jack Fischer, 50th Space Wing vice commander and former NASA astronaut, shared the conference, “Preparing for flight aboard SpaceX/Crew Dragon: Post Certification Mission 1,” to keep Airmen engaged and informed on the cooperative efforts to further the space mission alongside SpaceX, Space Force and NASA. “Soichi’s purpose was to share with astronauts and cosmonauts the current status of the Crew Dragon flights and answer questions about training,” Fischer said. “My purpose [in broadcasting the conference] was to share a neat experience with the Airmen and hopefully, inspire them a bit. Despite COVID, space exploration is continuing … and is awesome.” Noguchi, who has been an astronaut since 1996, will travel aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft (also known as Dragon) to the International Space Station alongside three NASA astronauts. The mission, US Crew Vehicle-1, also known as Crew-1, is tentatively set for August 2020. USCV-1 will be the first crewed operational flight of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
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