Posted on 10/20/2024 1:24:20 PM PDT by george76
In this era of Great Power Competition, it is imperative to not leave capability on the ground.'..
SpaceX just added another batch of launches to its already-busy manifest.
The U.S. Space Force announced on Friday (Oct. 18) that it has awarded SpaceX $733.6 million, in the form of two "National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 Launch Service Task Orders."
Together, the two task orders cover seven launches for the Space Development Agency (SDA) and one "mission set" for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), according to Space Force officials.
"In this era of Great Power Competition, it is imperative to not leave capability on the ground," Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, program executive officer for Assured Access to Space, said in an emailed statement on Friday.
"The Phase 3 Lane 1 construct allows us to execute launch services more quickly for the more risk-tolerant payloads, putting more capabilities on orbit faster in order to support national security," Panzenhagen added.
The newly announced SDA task order will help build out Tranche 2 of the Transport Layer, a constellation that will eventually consist of 300 to 500 or more satellites in low Earth orbit.
The Transport Layer "will provide assured, resilient, low-latency military data and connectivity worldwide to the full range of warfighter platforms," SDA officials wrote in a description of the planned constellation.
SpaceX has already launched multiple missions to help assemble the Transport Layer and its SDA cousin, the Tracking Layer, which is designed to detect and monitor potential missile threats.
...
the "mission set" for the NRO, which operates the United States' fleet of spy satellites, will launch from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 and the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026. So the task order apparently covers at least two liftoffs. (The fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.)
Both of the new task orders were awarded under an "indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity" contract that the Space Force signed with SpaceX — as well as Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance — in June of this year.
SOOOOOOO -—then US Government has to muzzle the CALIF COASTAL COMMISSION.
But NOT allowed to launch from California?
This should be interesting — California versus national security.
Just tell the Coastal Commission that the flights are necessary to keep monitoring the transmissions of MAGA supporters that are planning to launch terrorist attacks against the state government, blacks, womyn, Hispanics, LGBTQs and trans people. They will have no problems then!
This is going to be a problem going forward.
PDJT created the Space Force.
Spacex is bound to be a major vendor into Space Force.
When PDJT is back in office, the MSM-Democrats are going to be watching everything Musk does, and everything that Space Force does with Spacex, looking for anything they can blow up into a scandal. And they will certainly find things to set on fire.
Plus, the rocket fuel will be mandated to contain 50% ethanol.
When PDJT is back in office, the MSM-Democrats are going to be watching everything Musk does, and everything that Space Force does with Spacex, looking for anything they can blow up into a scandal. And they will certainly find things to set on fire.
Who will be listening to them? On what platform? Only 31% of people trust the mass media.
Sounds like work for Falcon Heavy which launches from the Cape.
Very interesting.
LOL...beautiful! Great idea!
Launch members of the California coastal commission board on those rockets as ballast.
No in California, they’ll mandate all Rockets launched in the state must be electric by 2027....
This is why Musk hasn’t been assassinated. Yet.
So Gallup says that Republicans have 10% trust in the mass media. Lowest number ever. Still higher than it should be.
Actually, it’s now 12%, not 10.
Mitt Romney? Lynn Cheney. Bill Kristol?
I guess you have a couple of "Republicans" who trust the mass media.
Houston has no problem with this.
Remember that Bill Clinton ordered the polyurethane insulation foams used on the external fuel tank of the Space Shuttle to be changed from a flexible shock-absorbing material to a rigid material that was more suited to load bearing applications. This was done to reduce CFC emmisions that are "harmful" to the ozone layer (as if one rocket's fuel tank will deplete the ozone layer).
The rigid foams couldn't withstand the vibrations of a launch and pieces of the insulation fell off of the external fuel tank and damaged the heat shields on the Space Shuttle Columbia, leading to its disintegration upon reentry in the Earth's atmosphere.
The lesson is to be careful making environmental-extremist appeasing changes to rocket science.
-PJ
Wow, there’s still 12% of Republicans who trust the media? What the heck are they listening to?
Houston (or Port Aransas etc.) may be more likely to be hit with a hurricane than Cal., but less likely to suffer an earthquake or insane regulations.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.