Space Force Preparing Exercise to Counter ‘Adversary On-Orbit Aggression’

The U.S. Space Force has selected two private space companies for a mission aimed at demonstrating how the military branch will counter “on-orbit aggression” perpetrated by an adversary, such as China. Rocket Lab, a California-based launch company, was awarded a $32 million contract through the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, according to a press release issued by the Space Force’s Space Systems Command on April 11. Additionally, Colorado-based space security company True Anomaly was awarded $30 million through the Space Force’s innovation arm SpaceWERX. True Anomaly will also “leverage $30 million of internal private capital” for the mission. The two companies will each create a rendezvous and proximity operation-capable spacecraft and a command and control center for the mission, dubbed Victus Haze, according to the statement. The objective of the mission is for the two companies to “exercise a realistic threat response scenario in an orbit space domain awareness.”...