3D render of planet Earth viewed from space, with night lights in Europe and sun rising over Asia. Blue hue treatment. Elements from NASA (https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/57000/57752/land_shallow_topo_2048.jpg)

Space as a Gray Zone: The Future of Orbital Warfare

Image: NASA By Alan T. Dugger, Published by Modern War Institute, 14 February 2025 For as long as humans have waged war, controlling the high ground has meant controlling the fight. From ancient hilltop fortresses to the elevated positions that dictated victory in modern battles, elevation offered a point from

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Space Development Agency launches study on Trump’s Iron Dome order

The Missile Defense Agency and the Space Development Agency are developing sensor technology to track hypersonic weapons from space. (L3Harris) By Courtney Albon, Published by Defense News, 12 February 2025 The Space Development Agency is launching a study to look at how its proliferated satellite constellation could support the Trump

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Top Pentagon contractors poised for gains as Trump pushes missile shield expansion

Northrop Grumman's low-Earth orbit constellation of satellites detecting missile launches by an unidentified adversary. Northrop Grumman illustration By Sandra Erwin, Published by Space News, 3 February 2025 The proposed “Iron Dome for America” system is heavily reliant on space-based sensors and potentially controversial space-based interceptors WASHINGTON — The nation’s top

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Image credit: Space Development Agency

Trump’s ‘Iron Dome for America’ plan directs space-based missile shield

Image credit: Space Development Agency By Sandra Erwin, Published by Space News, 28 January, 2025 The order sets a bold agenda to address emerging threats, including hypersonic missiles, through advanced technological solutions, including space-based interceptors. WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Jan. 27 that calls for the

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(Image credit: U.S. Space Force)

US Space Force 5 years later: What has it accomplished so far, and where does it go from here?

(Image credit: U.S. Space Force) By Brtt Tingley, Published by Space.com, 20 December 2024 The U.S. Space Force celebrates its fifth anniversary today. The service was formally established on Dec. 20, 2019, when President Donald Trump signed it into law with the National Defense Authorization Act, the bill that allocates

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Space Force awards Northrop Grumman $1.8 billion contract extension for missile warning satellites

Illustration of the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) polar satellite. Credit: Northrop Grumman By Sandra Erwin, Published by Space News, 23 October 2024 The company is building two satellites for the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) program WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force awarded Northrop Grumman a $1.8

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