Ideas

Why I'm Directing The Air Force to Focus on Space

In the coming months, the US Air Force will grow the space force in numbers and capabilities.

Business

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Will Fly the US Military's Top-Secret Space Robot

The company is due to launch the X-37B in August, breaking a decade-long monopoly by United Launch Alliance.

Science & Tech

The Rocket Startup That’s About to Eat Elon Musk’s Lunch

Rocket Lab is aiming to put small satellites in low Earth orbit at a fraction of the cost of even SpaceX.

Science & Tech

DARPA Picks Boeing To Build Its New Space Plane

The research agency hopes its XS-1 jumpstarts a whole new industry of very-low-cost satellite launches.

Ideas

Time Warfare: Threats to GPS Aren’t Just About Navigation and Positioning

The U.S. military needs to get serious about assuring access to precision timing.

Science & Tech

What Is America's Secret Space Shuttle For?

It’s not clear what the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B is supposed to do—or if it’s worth its hefty price tag.

Ideas

Inside NASA's Plan to Protect the Planet from a Massive Asteroid

In 2016, NASA established a new office for working with the Air Force, Defense Department, and FEMA to prevent speeding asteroids from impacting the Earth.

Science & Tech

Great-Power Rivalry May Turn Space War Real

A rising drumbeat of remarks from Pentagon officials suggest they’re worried about, and preparing for, warfare in orbit.

Policy

The US Air Force Is Reorganizing to Fight in Space

After a scathing report, service leaders are creating a three-star czar to oversee orbital warfare.

Ideas

WATCH: Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Exposition 2017

Join us as we livestream the final day of this year's conference. Or you can catch up on Monday and Tuesday's live-streamed discussions here, too.

Science & Tech

Elon Musk’s Reusable Rocket Just Changed The Space Game

The successful test flight of a used rocket is a milestone in the effort to drastically lower the cost of putting a satellite in orbit.

Ideas

Space Is Booming. America’s Next Heavy-Lift Rocket Should Reflect That

As the U.S. government leaves the RD-180 rocket engine behind, it should position itself to support and reap the benefits of the growth in orbital markets.

Ideas

Cocktails & Conversation: Space and Satellites in the New Administration

Tech Editor Patrick Tucker spoke with DoD's acting space-policy chief and CSIS' Todd Harrison.

Threats

China’s Growing Ambitions in Space

While Trump works to lay out a new policy for NASA, China is set to conduct a record number of launches this year.

Science & Tech

Cutting NASA Earth Observations Would Be a Costly Mistake

NASA’s Earth observation satellites provide constant real-time data on space, the atmosphere and the oceans—information critical to U.S. Navy and Department of Defense operations worldwide.

Science & Tech

Pentagon Eyes Missile-Defense Sensors In Space

Even as the Defense Department begins to build a giant new flight-tracking radar in Alaska, it is already thinking bigger — and much higher.

Ideas

It’s Time to Declare Our Independence from Russian Rockets

Attention, Congress: there are a range of alternatives to the RD-180, none of which run through Moscow.

Ideas

If Russia is Selling, the Pentagon Should Keep Buying — Rocket Engines, That Is

What’s the rush? Before hastily cutting off the engines we need, Congress should set the conditions for a better American space launch market.