Space Operations:After More Than Two Years in Orbit,US Space Force X-37B Lands at Space Shuttle Landing Facility

On 12 November 2022,a US Space Force Boeing X-37B spacecraft landed at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space Shuttle Landing Facility.Its mission,labeled Orbital Test Vehicle-6 (OTV-6),lasted a programme-record 908 days-or about 2.5 years.Some of the payloads were classified,while others were disclosed.The spacecraft,resembling a smaller version of the Space Shuttle,is believed to be one of two the Space Force owns and had formerly belonged to the US Air Force.Indeed,it still bore the Air Force lettering.The X-37B's secretive missions have grown longer with each launch.An Atlas V rocket has served as the launch vehicle.* This time,the OTV-6 featured the introduction of a service module,described as being a ring attached to the rear of the vehicle.The service module detached from the OTV before landing because of the aerodynamic forces affecting the OTV upon re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere.It will be disposed of in accordance with environmentally sound best practices,ensuring that space junk will not be left behind.* Among the disclosed experiments were the Naval Research Lab's Photovoltaic Radio Frequency Antenna Module,which harnesses solar rays above the atmosphere,seeking to transmit power to the Earth as RF microwave energy.The US Air Force Academy sent the FalconSat-8,developed with the Air Force Research Laboratory.It provides hands-on space operator training to USAFA cadets before their commissioning as officers in the Space Force. NASA sent two experiments on OTV-6.These were the Materials Exposure and Technology Innovation in Space-2 (METIS-2),which carried thermal coatings for testing;printed electronic materials;and candidate radiation shielding materials.After 908 days in space,these will be compared to ground simulations,validating and improving the precision of space environment models.NASA also sent a study of the effects of long-duration space exposure on seeds,in order to guide space crop production on interplanetary missions and permanently inhabited bases in space. Said Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Fritschen,Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office X-37B Program Director: The X-37B continues to push the boundaries of experimentation,enabled by an elite government and industry team behind the scenes.The addition of the service module on OTV-6 allowed us to host more expriments than ever before.* The undisclosed payloads would have perhaps tested the rapid deployment of space assets such as intelligence collection systems or satellite warfare components.For example,short notice could have been given of a Space Force need and the rapid deployment of it on the X-37B carried out.* Upon landing,technicians in biohazard-type suits safed the X-37B.* Boeing (BA) #usspaceforce #x37b #nasa #spaceshuttle #boeing #navalresearchlab #airforceresearchlab

Army, Air Force face off Saturday on gridiron - American Legion

Army, Air Force face off Saturday on gridiron: Matchup is second of the 2022 Commander’s Cup between the three military institutions.

SecAF and CSO: Space Force Update

On 6 May 2020, Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett and Chief of Space Operations GEN John Raymond gave a status check on the US Space Force during a webinar sponsored by the Space Foundation,an advocacy group of representatives from​ a broad range of aerospace organisations.Secretary Barrett noted that the USSF recently commissioned 86 US Air Force Academy cadets into the Space Force.For his part,GEN Raymond explained that:
We do not want to get into a conflict that begins or extends into space. We want to deter that. But the way you do that is from a position of strength. What gives us a position of strength is our partnerships. We also need to have systems that are defensible.And we have to continue to train our operatives to have the warfighting skills necessary to accomplish this mission.*
The USSF is aiming for a complement of about 16,000 personnel.It will be small, agile and trailblazing, according to GEN Raymond.The service is intent on protecting the free access to space which fuels both the American way of life and the American way of war.*
Secretary Barrett feels the launch of the X-37B space plane illustrates the necessity of having a Space Force:
The Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office has combined forces with the Air Force Research Laboratory and now the US Space Force to execute a mission that maximizes the X-37B's unique capabilities.*
The USSF now oversees the launch,on-orbiit operations and landing of the space plane.This mission demonstrates the integration of the Air Force,US Space Force and private industry partnerships, the Air Force said.While some of the mission is public,such as the NASA experiments supporting the human exploration of Mars, the military side is strictly classified.*
Most of the Space Force's work is being done by Air Force personnel assigned to the Space Force.Over the next few years, certain Air Force units and bases will transition into the USSF,such as Cape Canaveral Air Force Station becoming Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.*

NATO Approves USAF General as Next Commander

NATO's decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council,has approved the nomination of GEN Tod D. Wolters,US Air Force, for Supreme Allied Commander Europe, the Alliance's top military post, first filled by GEN Dwight D. Eisenhower.*
Upon US Senate approval,GEN Wolters is expected to assume command at a ceremony in Spring 2019 at NATO'S military headquarters in Mons, Belgium,an Alliance press release said.He is currently Commander,US Air Forces Europe and US Air Forces Africa; Commander, Allied Air Command; and Director,Joint Air Power Competence Centre.*
GEN Wolters,a US Air Force Academy graduate, received a Master's degree in Strategic Studies from the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.He has more than 5,000 hours of flying time in aircraft such as the F-15C and F-22.A combat veteran of Operations Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom,GEN Wolters has been decorated with the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters and the Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster,as well as the Air Force Combat Action Medal.