WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, May 17, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. EDT, the House Intelligence Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee, chaired by Congressman André Carson (D-Ind.), will hold an open hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena. Following the open portion of the hearing, the subcommittee will hold a closed, classified briefing.

WASHINGTON (ROK Ministry of National Defense PR) — The ROK Ministry of National Defense and the US Department of Defense held the 18th ROK-US Director-General-level Defense Space Cooperation Working Group (SCWG) in Washington DC on April 25, 2022.

This meeting was attended by Cho Yong-geun, Minister for North Korea Policy of the Republic of Korea Ministry of National Defense and John D. Hill, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy of the United States of America, as representatives of both sides.

After the signing of the Korea-U.S. Defense and Space Cooperation (SCWG) Agreement (TOR) at the Korea-U.S. Security Council Meeting (SCM) in October of ’12, the National Defense and Space Cooperation Council (SCWG) was held 17 times from ’13 to ’21.

Popular Mechanics reports that the Pentagon is studying how SpaceX was able to quickly thwart attempts to jam Starlink satellite broadband receivers the company sent to Ukraine to help the nation defend itself against a Russian invasion. The U.S. Department of Defense is casting envious eyes on Elon Musk’s SpaceX after the aerospace company swiftly responded to an “electronic warfare attack” in Ukraine last month. SpaceX donated Starlink terminals to […]

New U.S. Commitment on Destructive Direct-Ascent Anti-Satellite Missile Testing

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (White House PR) — Today at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that the United States commits not to conduct destructive, direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) missile testing, and that the United States seeks to establish this as a new international norm for responsible behavior in space. The Vice President also called on other nations to make similar commitments and to work together in establishing this as a norm, making the case that such efforts benefit all nations. 

DENVER (iPosi, Inc. PR) — GPS/GNSS technology firm iPosi, Inc. and Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation (VT-ARC) have been contracted by the Department of Defense’s Defense Spectrum Office (DSO) to develop a GPS/GNSS system to measure radio frequency (RF) path-loss that substantially increases shared spectrum without interference. The OTA contract addresses the need for increased shared spectrum between the DoD and wireless providers who require expanded access because of skyrocketing demand for broadband 5G spectrum.

Turnkey managed LEO services available now to DoD for single- and multi-transport SATCOM implementations worldwide

GERMANTOWN, Md. (Hughes Network Systems PR) — Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), an innovator in satellite and multi-transport technologies and networks for 50 years, today announced it signed a distribution agreement with OneWeb Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of OneWeb, to deliver managed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) services to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The agreement follows the launch of the industry’s first managed LEO satellite communications (SATCOM) network for the DoD, an implementation led by Hughes in the Arctic region for the U.S. Air Force Research Lab (AFRL).

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, April 4, 2022 (SwRI PR) — Southwest Research Institute has added a new, 74,000-square-foot Space System Integration Facility to its San Antonio headquarters. The SwRI facility can rapidly respond to customers needing to design, assemble and test spacecraft, particularly small satellites for emerging “new space” applications, including support for the commercial and U.S. Department of Defense arenas. The building is scheduled for completion in June 2022.

GERMANTOWN, MD, March 21, 2022 (Hughes PR) — Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), an innovator in satellite and multi-transport technologies and networks for 50 years, today announced the award of an $18 million contract from the Department of Defense (DoD) to deploy a standalone 5G network at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington state. The Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) was issued through the Information Warfare Research Project (IWRP) consortium, a collaboration to engage industry and academia to develop and mature technologies in the field of information warfare that enhance Navy and Marine Corps mission effectiveness. Hughes will serve as the prime contractor connecting the base with a secure 5G network to support operations, maintenance and flight traffic management. The Hughes 5G network will utilize spectrum from DISH Wireless, the only carrier capable of providing the right combination of low band, mid band, and high band (mmWave) spectrum. This work is part of on-going DoD 5G experimentation led by the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

LAFAYETTE, Colo. (Orbit Fab PR) — Orbit Fab has been awarded a $12 Million AFWERX Strategic Funding Increase and Tactical Funding Increase (STRATFI) contract to integrate its Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface (RAFTI) service value on to DOD assets and provide refueling services. Orbit Fab was founded in 2018 with the mission to build the in-space propellant supply chain. Orbit Fab has developed the RAFTI (Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface) […]

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFRL) – A launch of a two-stage suborbital sounding rocket for the Air Force Research Laboratory/Air Force Office of Scientific Research’s BOLT II flight experiment is set to take place the evening of March 21 at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Live coverage of the launch will be provided on NASA Wallops YouTube channel. Officials at NASA Wallops project the launch to be visible anywhere from 10 to 120 seconds from parts of seven states: Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia as well as Washington, D.C.