By Charles Pope
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (AFNS) —Chief of Space Operations, Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond used a list of “firsts” and achievements across the Space Force’s brief history Sept. 21 to illustrate how the nation’s newest military service is “purpose built” for success at a time when the nation “can no longer take space for granted.” 

“Space is clearly a warfighting domain and we’re convinced that if deterrence were to fail, we’re going to have to fight and win the battle for space superiority,” Raymond told an audience of more than 2,000 during his keynote address at the Air Force Association Air, Space, and Cyber Conference. “Let me be clear; we don’t want to fight in space. We want to deter that from happening.” 

TEL AVIV (Rakia Mission PR) — In early 2022, the Rakia Mission is scheduled to launch into space, and onboard will be Eytan Stibbe, Israel’s second man in space and the first to fly to the International Space Station (ISS).

WASHINGTON (U.S. Space Force PR) — The Chief of Space Operations announced the transfer of Army and Navy satellite communications billets, funding and mission responsibility to the U.S. Space Force.

Space Force Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond made the announcement at the Air Force Association meeting in Washington, yesterday. The transfers are scheduled to be effective Oct. 1, 2021, if the DOD budget is passed and signed.

“We’re one team with our sister services and over the last year-and-a-half we have worked with the Army and the Navy and the Air Force to determine which capabilities come over to the Space Force,” Raymond said. “The intent was to consolidate (and) increase our operational capability; increase our readiness and do so in a more efficient manner.”

The changes are “a first tranche,” he said.

GREENBELT, Md. (NASA PR) — Time capsules from the birth of our Solar System more than 4 billion years ago, the swarms of Trojan asteroids associated with Jupiter are thought to be remnants of the primordial material that formed the outer planets. The Trojans orbit the Sun in two loose groups, with one group leading ahead of Jupiter in its path, the other trailing behind.

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (SSC PR) — Space Systems Command (SSC) is partnering with industry on prototype projects to invest in next-generation rocket engine testing and upper stage resiliency enhancements. SSC’s Launch Enterprise today awarded FY21 prototype projects for Raptor Rapid Throttling and Restart Testing; Liquid Methane Specification Development and Testing; and Combustion Stability Analysis and Testing to SpaceX for $14.47 million, for Uplink Command and Control for […]

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

It seems that Elon Musk is a bit peeved that President Joe Biden didn’t congratulate SpaceX on completing the privately-funded Inspiration4 crewed mission last week and helping to raise $210 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“He’s still sleeping,” Musk wrote in response to a question from a Twitter follower about Biden’s silence. It was a clear reference to ex-President Donald Trump’s description of him as “sleepy Joe” during the campaign.

The remark set off the usual battle on social media. Musk’s legion of defenders called the omission unforgivable. Musk’s critics noted his willingness to amply praise authoritarian China where Musk’s Tesla Motors has a manufacturing plant even as he called U.S. officials “fascists” for their efforts to contain the deadly COVID-19 virus.

For his part, Jared Isaacman, the billionaire who funded and commanded the Inspiration4 flight, says Biden’s silence is no big deal.

TMZ.com reports that Capt. James Tiberius Kirk — actor William Shatner, anyway — will be heading to space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital launch system. We’re told Shatner will be on board in October for the 15-minute civilian flight — similar to the last launch. What we don’t know — BUT WHAT WOULD BE AWESOME — is if he wears his Capt. Kirk getup. Our sources say the mission […]

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — Even the most highly trained and experienced person sometimes needs a hand. For astronauts aboard the International Space Station, that helping hand comes from other crew members, experts on the ground, and increasingly, in the form of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

DALLAS and LOS ANGELES, Sept. 24, 2021 (Trive Capital PR) — The senior leadership team of Systima Technologies, Inc. (“Systima”) has partnered with Karman Missile & Space Systems  (“Karman” or the “Company”) backed by Trive Capital (“Trive”), the Dallas-based private equity firm. The addition of Systima represents another acquisition that expands the core competencies, customer base, and platform content in a strategic way to enable Karman to deliver more comprehensive solutions to its customers in the space and hypersonic markets. The leadership team of Systima will continue as equity holders and senior leaders of Karman. The acquisition of Systima represents the fifth transaction Trive has completed in the last 12 months in building the Karman platform, a purpose-built strategy dedicated to space and hypersonic system infrastructure.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (Virgin Galactic PR) — Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) (the “Company” or “Virgin Galactic”), a vertically integrated aerospace and space travel company, today announced that veteran human resources executive Aparna Chitale will join the company as its Chief People Officer (CPO) on September 30, 2021.

Chitale brings over 20 years of strategic experience at multi-national organizations, where she has scaled and led global teams at both public and privately held companies. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Human Resources at Disney Parks Experiences and Products.

Michael Colglazier, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Galactic, said, “I’m delighted to welcome Aparna to the Virgin Galactic team. She has an outstanding track record building and supporting highly skilled teams across engineering, maintenance, safety, and technical services. Aparna also brings deep experience hiring and developing top talent in global destinations around the world to support rapid growth. This unique background, combined with her proven ability to foster a high performance culture rooted in a diverse and inclusive work environment, will support Virgin Galactic’s ambitious growth strategy.”

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ohio State University PR) — Engineering researchers have developed a method to use signals broadcast by Starlink internet service satellites to accurately locate a position here on Earth, much like GPS does. It is the first time the Starlink system has been harnessed by researchers outside SpaceX for navigation.

Former MDA Director and industry heavyweight joins team following Satellogic’s expansion into North America, Africa, and beyond

CHARLOTTE, N.C., September 23, 2021 (Satellogic PR) — Satellogic, a leader in sub-meter resolution satellite imagery collection, today announced that Greg Frey has joined the Satellogic Business Development team as Global Director of Channel Sales.

In his role, Frey will cultivate new international channel partnerships to support the continued adoption of Satellogic’s industry-leading data in regional and local markets. In doing so, Frey will directly support Satellogic’s mission of the democratization of geospatial data while opening up new markets for the company.

“Greg has amassed a wealth of experience in the Earth Observation industry, and his knowledge of maritime applications for Satellite data is particularly exciting,” said Thomas VanMatre, Vice President of Global Business Development at Satellogic. “Greg has both a deep and broad understanding of the global Earth Observation market and under his leadership Satellogic’s Channel Program will open and expand exciting new opportunities for increased revenue and growth.”