U.S. Space Force
Every Cosmic Herald story on U.S. Space Force — missions, launches, discoveries, and the business of space, newest first.
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Military Space
Saltzman's Exit Warning: Orbital Mechanics Will Drag Everyone Into a Space War
In his farewell address as Chief of Space Operations, Gen. Chance Saltzman warned that orbital mechanics gives no nation an opt-out from a war in space — and that the only real deterrent is a force visibly able to win one.
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Military Space
Half the Constellation: SDA Resumes Tranche 1 Satellite Launches After Nine-Month Pause
SDA launched 21 more York-built data-relay satellites after a nine-month pause to fix on-orbit software and hardware issues, bringing half of its 126-satellite Tranche 1 Transport Layer into orbit even as GAO warns the program may not deliver capability on schedule.
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Military Space
Space and Air Chiefs From 50-Plus Nations Convene in London to Talk Space Warfare and Nuclear Deterrence
Air and space leaders from the US, UK, and more than 50 other nations meet in London July 15-16 to discuss space operations, nuclear deterrence, and missile defense days after a tense NATO summit.
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Military Space
Space Force Completes Its Nine-Portfolio Acquisition Overhaul, Citing a 'Wartime Footing'
The Space Force has finished carving its entire acquisition enterprise into nine mission-focused portfolios controlling up to 92% of contracting authority, its biggest reorg since 2019.
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Military Space
Space Force Adds Relativity Space and Impulse Space to Its National Security Launch Roster
Space Systems Command has admitted Relativity Space and Impulse Space to the NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 contract pool, giving the two commercial newcomers a shot at up to $5.6 billion in military launch task orders.
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Military Space
Senate Sets July 16 Hearing to Confirm Space Force's Next Top General
The Senate Armed Services Committee has calendared a July 16, 2026 hearing on Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess's nomination to become the Space Force's third Chief of Space Operations, succeeding Gen. Chance Saltzman.
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Military Space
Space Force Adds Impulse Space and Relativity Federal to Its $5.6 Billion Launch Roster
Space Systems Command admitted Impulse Space and Relativity's Relativity Federal to NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 on July 7, growing the qualified-provider pool to seven and handing each a $5 million task order.
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Military Space
Does the Space Force Need Its Own Lawyers? The Senate Wants an Answer by December 2027
The Senate's draft FY2027 NDAA orders a formal study into whether the Space Force still needs to borrow Air Force lawyers, with findings due by December 1, 2027.
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Military Space
Guardians and Airmen Just Let AI Run Battle Management for the First Time — and It Did Five Jobs at Once
In a two-week Las Vegas exercise called MASH, Space Force Guardians and Air Force Airmen wired six competing AI vendors into one battle-management workflow, and an operator reported doing five to six taskings in the time one used to take.
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Military Space
VICTUS HAZE: How a 16-Hour Launch and a 61-Hour Chase Just Rewrote the Rules of Space Warfare
Over the July 4th weekend, Rocket Lab launched a Space Force satellite in 16 hours 42 minutes, then True Anomaly's autonomous JACKAL-0004 found and imaged it in 61 hours — the first commercial orbital intercept in history.
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Military Space
GAO Watchdog: Pentagon Weapons Now Take 12 Years to Deliver, and Space Programs Are Feeling It Too
A July 2, 2026 GAO report finds Pentagon weapons now take over 12 years to field on average, with a missile-warning satellite delay and Space Force staffing shortages among the warning signs.
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Military Space
Victus Haze: How the Space Force Just Proved It Can Hunt Satellites on Hours' Notice
Rocket Lab's Puma launched 16 hours after notice and, guided only by its own sensors, tracked down and photographed True Anomaly's orbiting Jackal-0004 satellite — a rehearsal for spotting adversary spacecraft with almost no warning.
