Today's highlights:

RUSSIAN SATELLITE RAISES CONCERNS — U.S. Space Command is bracing for possible Russian targeting of American satellites.

Gen. Stephen Whiting, speaking on Monday at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, highlighted Russia's May 16 launch of Cosmos 2576, which the Pentagon views as a counter-space weapon now in "operational capacity."

Whiting noted the satellite's "co-planar" positioning relative to a U.S. national security satellite, allowing for close monitoring and potential interference. This deployment aligns with previous Russian counter-space weapon tests observed in 2017, 2019, and 2022.
The threat extends beyond military concerns, potentially impacting critical services like GPS navigation and weather forecasting. Whiting said Space Command is focused on preparedness efforts.

Gen. Stephen Whiting, U.S. Space Command commander, speaks with local enlistees at a community ceremony to honor high school seniors who are enlisting in the U.S. Armed Services in Colorado Springs, Colorado, May 2, 2024. Credit: U.S. Space Command

WHO DOES WHAT IN SPACE? In the evolving realm of military space operations, confusion often surrounds two key U.S. military entities: Space Command and Space Force.

"Space is a team sport and it takes a lot of different organizations," Whiting said at the Mitchell Institute talk.

"Unfortunately, a lot of those agencies all have the word space in the name and so it can be confusing who does what," he noted.

Despite their similar names, organizations serve distinct roles.

U.S. Space Command, reactivated in 2019, functions as a unified combatant command. It orchestrates space-related military operations, drawing personnel from all service branches and reports directly to the Secretary of Defense and the President.
The U.S. Space Force, established in the same year, is the newest branch of the U.S. military. Operating under the Department of the Air Force, it focuses on training space professionals and developing space-related capabilities. These assets are then provided to Space Command and other combatant commands for operational use.
The relationship between these entities mirrors that of other military branches and combatant commands. While Space Force builds and maintains space capabilities, Space Command employs these resources in actual operations.

Three commercial firms have won contracts from the U.S. Navy in recent months to develop solid rocket motors for the Standard missile — the Navy's go-to weapon for air defense and missile interception.

X-Bow Systems, Anduril Industries and Ursa Major have inked agreements to develop and test solid rocket motors for the first and second stages of the Standard missile.

The Pentagon has been sounding the alarm on the shrinking pool of domestic rocket motor suppliers. With conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East straining production capacity, DoD is eager to tap into commercial innovation.

GOES-U, the final satellite in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R series. Credit: Lockheed Martin

LOCKHEED MARTIN clinched a $2.2 billion deal announced last week to build the next generation of U.S. geostationary weather satellites. The contract, awarded by NASA on behalf of NOAA, covers three Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) satellites with options for four more. First launch is expected in the early 2030s.

On the military front, Lockheed secured a $977.5 million contract extension for its Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) program. This brings the total contract value to $8.2 billion. The deal extends work until 2029 on two geosynchronous satellites designed to detect and track ballistic missile launches.

Join our expert panelists as they dive into the growing race for moon resources.

In other news 🚀

Northrop Grumman last week delivered two satellites to Space Norway for the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) that seeks to provide internet connectivity in the challenging northern polar region.

The satellites are set to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as early as mid-July. The pair will provide broadband coverage over the North Pole and high-latitude areas underserved by existing satellite networks.

Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) satellites. Credit: Northrop Grumman

Honeywell plans to acquire the defense electronics firm CAES for $1.9 billion. CAES (Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions) is part of Cobham, a British defense and aerospace contractor that the private equity firm Advent International bought for about $5 billion in 2020.

Advent sold Cobham's space-related assets to a separate private equity firm in 2023. The sale to Honeywell does not include the remaining part of Cobham that Advent still owns, Cobham Satcom, which provides ground-based terminals for satellite communications.

The commercial space industry is facing an onslaught of cyber attacks and other threats, but lacks the resources and coordination to adequately defend itself, warned the head of the Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC).

"Every week we're recording over 100 attacks against critical infrastructure related to space systems," said Erin Miller, executive director of the Space ISAC, a non-profit organization that analyzes and shares information on cyber threats and vulnerabilities related to space systems.

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