Lawmakers ask House appropriators to add $50 million for DoD ‘tactically responsive launch’

by

The U. S. Space Force launched the Tactically Responsive Launch-2 (TacRL-2) mission on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base on June 13, 2021. Credit: U.S. Space Force

The letter sent to House appropriators was signed by Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), and co-signed by 10 other members from both parties

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of lawmakers in a letter Jan. 31 asked House defense appropriators to add $50 million to the Pentagon’s 2022 budget for tactically responsive space launch, a term used to describe launch services that can be performed on short notice. 

“The U.S. is currently not prepared to replace or augment space launch capabilities on tactical timelines if capabilities are lost,” says the letter sent to Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) and Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), chair and ranking member, respectively, of the House Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee.

The letter was signed by Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), and co-signed by 10 other members from both parties. 

The Pentagon did not request any funding in 2022 for tactically responsive launch. The 2022 National Defense Authorization Act approved $50 million. The Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense appropriations bill matched the NDAA’s recommendation but the House version does not.

“As the fiscal year 2022 appropriations process continues and you enter into negotiations with the Senate on a final fiscal year 2022 Department of Defense Appropriations bill, we respectfully request that you consider including $50 million for tactically responsive launch,” says the Jan. 31 letter, a copy of which was obtained by SpaceNews.

The letter argues that military commanders need to be able to “reconstitute space assets and capabilities if such assets and capabilities are degraded or attacked.” The recent Russian anti-satellite missile test “demonstrates the urgency with which the Department of Defense must field capabilities to meet this challenge” as U.S. satellites are threatened by direct-ascent or space-based weapons, and space debris.

The lawmakers say they agree with the NDAA language that DoD should establish a “program of record centered on tactically responsive launch.”

Companies like Virgin Orbit have actively lobbied for funding for this program, which is aimed at the small launch industry, particularly providers that don’t require conventional launch facilities and can get their vehicles ready to launch within days or hours. 

The letter says the $50 million should be spent on a comprehensive demonstration of responsive mission planning, deployment of satellites, on-orbit operations and delivery of on-orbit data.

No specific launch providers are mentioned in the letter. According to a congressional source, lawmakers expect the Space Force to make a competitive selection based on technical merits and cost. Given the growing number of small companies trying to compete in this sector, the source said, a DoD demonstration should include multiple vendors that use different launch methods.

Note: This article have been indexed to our site. We do not claim legitimacy, ownership or copyright of any of the content above. To see the article at original source Click Here

Related Posts
Global Tech Giants Profitability Domination thumbnail

Global Tech Giants Profitability Domination

Apple has competitors with smartphones and applications but Apple has 75% of smartphone hardware profits. Apple has about 40% margin and makes far more profits from its iTunes ecosystem. Samsung is usually among the top four in smartphone unit sales but Samsung makes more from semiconductors and appliances than from smartphones. Xiaomi is one of…
Read More
Should Disney reboot Alien vs. Predator? thumbnail

Should Disney reboot Alien vs. Predator?

Home References Entertainment (Image credit: 20th Century Fox) Next up for the Alien and Predator franchises are a TV series led by Noah Hawley and a new film titled Prey respectively. Both stories appear to be breaking away from previous instalments and looking to expand their universes’ horizons. While all that sounds like a refreshing…
Read More
CATL New Battery Factories 2021 thumbnail

CATL New Battery Factories 2021

CATL is the world’s largest battery manufacturer and they started production on Dec 22, 2021 at their largest factory. The factory is in Ningde city, Fujian Province. The manufacturing facility will eventually have an annual production capacity of 120 GWh. The first phase which just started has a capacity of 60 GWh per year. This…
Read More
Bearbnb: Polar bears make themselves at home in abandoned village thumbnail

Bearbnb: Polar bears make themselves at home in abandoned village

By Gege Li Dmitry KokhPhotographer Dmitry Kokh AN ABANDONED weather station and its surrounding settlement is an unconventional place to find polar bears, but then we are living in unconventional times. Dmitry KokhAdvertisementWildlife photographer Dmitry Kokh happened upon the animals when the boat he was on took shelter from a storm at the Russian island…
Read More
Index Of News