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DefenseNews.com • Michael Peck

US Air Force plan would repurpose decommissioned offshore oil rigs as sea-based rocket booster recovery stations

The U.S. Air Force is proposing to convert retired offshore oil platforms into “sea-based recovery stations” to support U.S. Space Force and commercial rocket-recovery operations. The concept reframes maritime infrastructure as an aircraft-like recovery asset, expanding recovery options beyond land and traditional range assets.

2026-05-18T08:53:46.937333-07:00

SpaceNews.com

Space Force awards Northrop Grumman $398M for Enhanced Protected Tactical Satellite Communications-Prototype to demonstrate anti

2026-05-16T07:53:09.719393-07:00

SpaceNews.com

York Space Systems defends growth as SDA restructuring reshapes Pentagon demand

2026-05-16T15:08:52.224700-07:00

SpaceNews.com

CBO: Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense could cost ~$1.2T over 20 years, with space-based interceptors the biggest driver

2026-05-12T15:14:25.264888-07:00

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DefenseNews.com

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US Air Force plan would repurpose decommissioned offshore oil rigs as sea-based rocket booster recovery stations The U.S. Air Force is proposing to convert retired offshore oil platforms into “sea-based recovery stations” to support U.S. Space Force and commercial rocket-recovery operations. The concept reframes maritime infrastructure as an aircraft-like recovery asset, expanding recovery options beyond land and traditional range assets.

2026-05-18T08:53:46.937333-07:00

US Air Force plan would repurpose decommissioned offshore oil rigs as sea-based rocket booster recovery stations

SpaceNews.com

York Space Systems defends growth as SDA restructuring reshapes Pentagon demand York Space Systems is confronting a core business-model test as its Pentagon program underpinning earlier growth is reorganized. The company is defending its strategy amid changes to Space Development Agency (SDA) programming, which alters how and where spacecraft and related capabilities will be procured.

2026-05-16T15:08:52.224700-07:00

York Space Systems defends growth as SDA restructuring reshapes Pentagon demand

SpaceNews.com

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Space Force awards Northrop Grumman $398M for Enhanced Protected Tactical Satellite Communications-Prototype to demonstrate anti The U.S. Space Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a $398 million contract for the Enhanced Protected Tactical Satellite Communications-Prototype (EPTS-P) effort under Space Systems Command. The prototype is intended to demonstrate anti-jamming technologies for military satellite communications in contested environments.

2026-05-16T07:53:09.719393-07:00

Space Force awards Northrop Grumman $398M for Enhanced Protected Tactical Satellite Communications-Prototype to demonstrate anti

SpaceNews.com

Golden Dome chief disputes CBO’s $1.2T cost estimate for space-based missile defense U.S. Space Force Golden Dome program director Michael Guetlein challenged a Congressional Budget Office estimate pegging the program’s cost at $1.2 trillion. Speaking at Washington’s “Inside the Dome” conference, he argued the estimate does not reflect the program’s affordability and scaling path.

2026-05-14T10:36:53.949538-07:00

Golden Dome chief disputes CBO’s $1.2T cost estimate for space-based missile defense

Ars Technica

US launches nuclear-in-orbit wargame to model how an LEO detonation could degrade orbit for up to a year U.S. officials say a simulated nuclear detonation in low Earth orbit could render portions of orbit “useless” for as long as a year, shaping degraded-operations scenarios for commanders. The new military wargame series tests consequences for space operations and decision-making under nuclear-induced orbital disruption.

2026-05-13T12:13:16.645141-07:00

US launches nuclear-in-orbit wargame to model how an LEO detonation could degrade orbit for up to a year

SpaceNews.com

CBO: Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense could cost ~$1.2T over 20 years, with space-based interceptors the biggest driver The Congressional Budget Office estimates a national missile defense architecture broadly aligned with President Trump’s “Golden Dome” executive order would cost about $1.2 trillion over the next two decades. The CBO report says space-based interceptors are the largest cost component—far above the Pentagon’s public estimate of roughly $185 billion.

2026-05-12T15:14:25.264888-07:00

CBO: Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense could cost ~$1.2T over 20 years, with space-based interceptors the biggest driver

Space Intel Report

Kratos Q1 signals acceleration in its space/defense business—3:1 book-to-bill as Space Force MEO ground network work scales Kratos Defense & Security says its satellite business is in “take-off mode,” and Q1 results suggest momentum: a 3:1 book-to-bill supported by space/defense contracting progress, including Space Force MEO ground network work anchored by its OpenSpace virtual ground system. Investors now have financial confirmation of the build-out.

2026-05-11T16:30:52.876362-07:00

Kratos Q1 signals acceleration in its space/defense business—3:1 book-to-bill as Space Force MEO ground network work scales

SpaceNews.com

Space race warning: failing to pass defense budget, relying on Continuing Resolution would “crush progress” in space The cluster argues that delays in passing a defense budget are a self-inflicted setback for U.S. space capabilities, contending that a Continuing Resolution would undermine the ability to fight and win in space by slowing progress. The message frames budget uncertainty as directly harmful to strategic momentum in the space race.

2026-05-11T08:27:40.026216-07:00

Space race warning: failing to pass defense budget, relying on Continuing Resolution would “crush progress” in space

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Space Force News

US Air Force plan would repurpose decommissioned offshore oil rigs as sea-based rocket booster recovery stations

Space Force awards Northrop Grumman $398M for Enhanced Protected Tactical Satellite Communications-Prototype to demonstrate anti

York Space Systems defends growth as SDA restructuring reshapes Pentagon demand

CBO: Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense could cost ~$1.2T over 20 years, with space-based interceptors the biggest driver

News Timeline