Congress provides $130 million for hypersonic missile warning satellites Concept art from Northrop Grumman shows a potential architecture for defending against hypersonic missiles. (Northrop Grumman) WASHINGTON Congress increased the Missile Defense Agency’s budget by $130 million to fund a new satellite constellation capable of tracking hypersonic weapons. A satellites in low Earth orbit will provide targeting data for hypersonic weapons that are dimmer than traditional ballistics and can maneuver in flight, plugging a massive hole in the U.S. missile warning architecture. Lawmakers, who approved the appropriations package Dec. 21 by a majority wide enough to overcome a veto hinted at by President Donald Trump, had expressed concern throughout the year that the agency’s budget does not include any funding to develop the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS). While MDA leadership did ask Congress to fund the constellation, seeking $108 million for HBT
Raytheon, Airbus get second shot at huge satellite deal
In light of pushback from disappointed bidders, the Space Development Agency is backing off a pair of awards to take a second look at its decision.
SDA had awarded a pair of Tranche 0 Tracking Layer contracts to L3Harris Technologies and SpaceX worth about $342 million. They were to each build four satellites for tracking hypersonic weapons and other next-generation advanced missile threats.
Eventually, there would be a constellations of hundreds of satellites that would collect and distribute data on potential threats.
Also vying for the work was Raytheon and Airbus’ U.S. subsidiary. Both complained to the Government Accountability Office that the evaluation of proposals was not conducted properly.
personnel in the Space Force will be called Guardians.
DEC. 19, 2020 | BY JIM GARAMONE, DOD NEWS
Vice President Mike Pence announced that personnel in the Space Force will be called Guardians. He spoke during a White House event marking the first anniversary of the U.S. Space Force, yesterday.
“It is my honor, on behalf of the President of the United States, to announce that, henceforth, the men and women of the United States Space Force will be known as ‘Guardians, ” Pence said during the ceremonies. Let me urge each and every one of you Guardians to keep pushing. … Keep pushing the vision and the mission of the United States Space Force, which is to ensure that America remains as dominant in space.”
Perspecta awarded $112 million program for systems engineering and integration work at the Space Development Agency prnewswire.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from prnewswire.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.