Page 6 - Space Force Systems News Today

Rumors already are flying about who will take over the vice slot at Space Force when Gen. David "DT" Thompson retires next year, with current bets on Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, head of Space Systems Command.

The Space Force and NASA announced contract selections this week, confirming United Launch Alliance and SpaceX will launch the dozen-plus missions.

Learn more about the national security missions that the agencies will conduct in the future. This week, the Space Force and NASA each issued contract selections for a variety of programs, confirming that United Launch Alliance and SpaceX will execute the dozen-plus missions on top of already loaded manifests.

The needs analysis comes as Congress has been keeping a watchful eye on what some lawmakers worry is a brewing turf battle between the Space Force and the spy satellite agencies.

Space Force's 18th Space Control Squadron was "re-designated" on April 13 as the "18th Space Defense Squadron," but will remain SPACECOM's key provider of space domain awareness.

Military leaders briefed Congress that China was seeking to Usurp the United States' strategic advantage by disrupting space-based infrastructure.

The Space Force has delayed its planned mission with United Launch Alliance that was slated to lift off this month from Cape Canaveral, so now the next Atlas V rocket aims to bring the long-delayed Boeing CST-100 Starliner to the International Space Station.

"We've been talking about the fact that space is contested, and we're probably right in the middle now of our first space fight," said Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein.

Press release content from Business Wire. The AP news staff was not involved in its creation.

The U.S. Space Force’s Space Test Program-3 (STP-3) mission got spaceborne in the early morning hours of Dec. 7 after a 5:19 a.m. launch aboard a United