The US Space Force

U.S. Has Space Weapons On Orbit Now, Air Force Secretary Says​

https://aviationweek.com/defense/mi...ce-weapons-orbit-now-air-force-secretary-says
The first launch of satellites for a future space-based air moving target indication (AMTI) network will take place this month, Meink added. In July, the Space Force awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract under the National Security Space Launch program to support 18 launches related to Space-based AMTI and the Space Data Network, Aviation Week previously reported.
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How the Space Force Is Preparing for Its New Moving Target Missions​

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/how-space-force-is-preparing-new-moving-target-missions/
The NRO has launched some ground moving target indicator, or GMTI, satellites as part of its multimission proliferated low-Earth orbit constellation. And the head of Combat Forces Command, Lt. Gen. Gregory Gagnon, told reporters Sept. 16 that the Space Force expects to launch a new GMTI capability called Resilient Radar System-Ground in the next year or two. Those spacecraft are being built by Northrop Grumman, he said during a briefing at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber conference.
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The Space Force is also on the verge of launching its first space-based air moving target indicator, or AMTI, satellites. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said Sept. 14 the spacecraft would launch later this month. Acquisition officials have declined to detail how many satellites will launch or provide a date for the mission. The only Space Force launch scheduled for this month, according to Spaceflight Now’s public launch listing, is USSF-259, a classified payload slated to lift off Sept. 16 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
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Forest Green said:

U.S. Has Space Weapons On Orbit Now, Air Force Secretary Says​

https://aviationweek.com/defense/mi...ce-weapons-orbit-now-air-force-secretary-says
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https://defensescoop.com/2026/09/17...acking-for-airborne-and-ground-based-targets/
17 sats launched on thursday by Falcon 9 mission USSF-259 aka "TH-1" on FAA planning probably were the first SB-AMTI prototypes; number of sats based on USSF cataloguing is distinct from other Starshield and MILNET/SDN Backbone "Starshield R-n" missions

The first Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator (SB-AMTI) prototypes will be launched into low-Earth orbit before the end of September, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink announced Monday. The upcoming mission comes after the Space Force tapped SpaceX in May to field an operational constellation by 2028.


“We are applying the same approach to proliferating constellations. One example is our space-based interceptor program, which moved from initial contract to flight-ready hardware in less than one year,” Meink said during AFA’s annual Air, Space and Cyber Conference. “We are launching our AMTI — or our air-moving target indication constellation — this month.”
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Forest Green said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2102132626895020221
View: https://x.com/outerspacetoday/status/2102132626895020221?s=20

Space Threats​

https://www.ssc.spaceforce.mil/space-threats
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For reference the First Nexus-1 spacecraft by Katalyst will be launched in H2 2027 on an Ariane 64 in Dual launch configuration
https://www.ariane.group/en/news/katalyst-selects-arianespace-to-launch-geo-mission-aboard-ariane-6/
One can only hope Katalyst learnt the right lessons from their failed Swift boost mission.
 
Accelerated 24-month timeline to deliver satellite with high‑quality imaging and more frequent characterization of objects in geosynchronous orbit
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Tracking an object in orbit from a second object in orbit is not an easy task. Though I suppose it's easier on something in GSO than at LEO.
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/2102461013937246260
View: https://x.com/CUAS_NEWS/status/2102461013937246260?s=20

https://twitter.com/x/status/2102751053263294578
View: https://x.com/outerspacetoday/status/2102751053263294578?s=20
Impulse’s highly maneuverable Mira spacecraft will carry an optical sensor in low Earth orbit capable of monitoring objects as far away as geosynchronous orbit, roughly 36,000 kilometers above Earth.
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True Anomaly Selected for GHOST-R GEO Reconnaissance Mission
https://www.trueanomaly.space/newsroom/true-anomaly-selected-for-ghost-r-geo-reconnaissance-mission
Geosynchronous orbit (GEO) is becoming contested, and the mission set is evolving to meet it. GEO is home to capabilities our nation depends on: advanced missile warning, global strategic communications, and national intelligence assets, all parked over fixed points on Earth because the mission demands persistence. For most of the space age, this orbit was sparsely populated and required little active monitoring. That condition has changed. As more systems operate in GEO and maneuver with greater capability, the ability to pursue, approach, and characterize objects in that regime has become a prerequisite for defending what lives there. GHOST-R is the first step for the United States in building it.
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True Anomaly was selected by the Department of War Innovation Unit (DIU) to deliver its Jackal autonomous orbital vehicle for the Geosynchronous High-Resolution Optical Space-Based Tactical Reconnaissance (GHOST-R) program. GHOST-R paves the way for the success of RG-XX, the United States Space Force’s (USSF) program of record for establishing a persistent, highly maneuverable, and proliferated constellation in GEO for space domain awareness.
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Scott Kenny said:
Tracking an object in orbit from a second object in orbit is not an easy task. Though I suppose it's easier on something in GSO than at LEO.
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https://twitter.com/x/status/2101800013198508083
View: https://x.com/LunarCitizens/status/2101800013198508083?s=20
 
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