Space Force may hire companies to service orbiting satellites

Sur le même sujet

• 

  9 octobre 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  USAF Receives Nine KC-46As In Third Quarter

  Boeing delivered nine KC-46A tankers to the U.S. Air Force in the third quarter and 21 overall so far this year despite a series of quality control issues and a newly discovered design flaw, the company announced on Oct. 8. The Air Force could receive a total of 30 KC-46As this year if Boeing matches third-quarter deliveries during the last three months of 2019. That delivery total still falls short of Boeing's original plan to deliver at least 36 aircraft this year, but it is possible the company could deliver aircraft at an even faster rate in the fourth quarter. The Air Force had planned to receive KC-46As at an annual rate of 15 aircraft, but an impasse over assigning financial responsibility for fixing two design flaws delayed first delivery more than two years. As negotiations continued, Boeing built up a large backlog of undelivered KC-46As. The two sides finally came to an agreement on Jan. 29, allowing Boeing to deliver the first aircraft by the end of that month. Boeing agreed to pay for a redesign of the remote vision system (RVS), which is still being defined. The Air Force funded the redesign of a new actuator for the KC-46A refueling boom. The service is also withholding 20% of the payment for each aircraft until the RVS redesign is complete. In the meantime, the Air Force has restricted the KC-46A fleet from carrying cargo and passengers after finding a new design flaw during initial operational test and evaluation. The devices that hold cargo and passenger seats in place became unlocked in flight. https://aviationweek.com/defense/usaf-receives-nine-kc-46as-third-quarter

• 

  24 septembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre

  Russie: grandes manœuvres de l'armée, avec des militaires chinois

  La Russie a lancé lundi 16 septembre de grandes manœuvres militaires annuelles, mobilisant jusqu'à samedi 128.000 hommes dans le centre du pays, dont des militaires et des avions chinois, avec pour scénario de repousser une attaque islamiste. Organisées essentiellement dans la région d'Orenbourg, frontalière du Kazakhstan, les manœuvres Tsentr-2019 impliqueront «plus de 20.000 engins militaires, environ 600 appareils volants et jusqu'à 15 navires», selon un communiqué du ministère russe de la Défense. En plus des soldats russes, des troupes venues de Chine, d'Inde, du Pakistan et de plusieurs pays d'Asie centrale doivent participer à ces manœuvres. Une vingtaine d'avions et d'hélicoptères chinois prendront notamment part aux exercices. Ceux-ci se se basent sur un scénario dans lequel un pays indéterminé, converti à l'islamisme radical, entre en conflit avec la Russie. «Un Etat imaginaire émerge au sud-ouest de la Russie. Ses leaders partagent les idées extrémistes des organisations terroristes internationales. Ce pays imaginaire, possédant une armée développée, tente d'exercer une pression sur la Russie, y compris militaire», e expliqué la semaine dernière le vice-ministre russe de la Défense, Alexandre Fomine. «L'escalade des tensions évolue finalement vers un conflit armé», a-t-il poursuivi, cité par l'agence officielle TASS, au cours d'un briefing. La première phase des manœuvres sera consacrée à coordonner le commandement, repousser des attaques aériennes et mener des opérations de reconnaissance. Dans la seconde phase, la coalition internationale formée par la Russie dans ces exercices mènera des frappes massives contre l'ennemi, précise le ministère de la Défense. La Russie organise chaque année, au mois de septembre, de grandes manœuvres militaires. Les précédentes, organisées en Sibérie orientale et dans l'Extrême-Orient russe, avaient mobilisé 300.000 hommes et tout l'arsenal moderne de l'armée russe, dont les missiles Iskander, capables de transporter des ogives nucléaires. L'année précédente, les exercices nommées Zapad-2017 («Ouest-2017») s'étaient déroulés près de la frontière avec la Lituanie et la Pologne, provoquant la fureur de l'Otan et de plusieurs pays européens qui avaient dénoncé une provocation. http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/russie-grandes-manoeuvres-de-l-armee-avec-des-militaires-chinois-20190916

• 

  10 août 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  SpaceX and ULA win massive national security launch contracts

  Nathan Strout SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have won massive five-year National Security Space Launch contracts from the U.S. Space Force and National Reconnaissance Office, the Space and Missile Systems Center announced Aug. 7. The contracts will support more than 30 heavy lift launches planned between fiscal 2022 through 2027, with task orders to be made from fiscal 2020 through 2024. 60 percent of launch services orders will go to ULA, with SpaceX taking up the remaining 40 percent. The two firm-fixed-price, indefinite delivery requirement contracts included funding for the first year of launches: $337 for ULA and $316 for SpaceX. “This is a groundbreaking day, culminating years of strategic planning and effort by the Department of the Air Force, NRO and our launch service industry partners,” said William Roper, assistant secretary of the U.S. Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, in a statement. “Maintaining a competitive launch market, servicing both government and commercial customers, is how we encourage continued innovation on assured access to space. Today's awards mark a new epoch of space launch that will finally transition the Department off Russian RD-180 engines.” Following a Congressional mandate, the Department of Defense began the NSSL competition in 2019 to end U.S. reliance on the Russian propulsion systems used for the Atlas V and Delta IV rockets. A four-way competition ensued, with Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman and ULA designing new rockets for the military and SpaceX submitting their already certified Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. The Space and Missile Systems Center claimed that a report issued in April by think tank RAND supported its decision to award contracts to only two launch providers, arguing that the market could only support two. “This landmark award begins the dawn of a new decade in U.S. launch innovation, while promoting competition, maintaining a healthy industrial base, and reinforcing our global competitive advantage,” stated Lt. Gen. John Thompson, commander of SMC and program executive officer for space. “This acquisition will maintain our unprecedented mission success record, transition National Security Space payloads to new launch vehicles, assure access for current and future space architectures and cultivate innovative mission assurance practices.” With the announcement, SMC announced the first three missions to be assigned under the new contracts: USSF-51 and USSF-106 for ULA, and USSF-67 for SpaceX. All three will take place in fiscal 2022. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/08/07/spacex-and-ula-win-massive-national-security-launch-contracts