Latest news with #Panzenhagen
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Space Force weighs options for boosting launch resiliency, capacity
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways The Space Force is eyeing options to increase its launch capacity and resiliency as demand for U.S. national security and commercial launch continue to strain existing launch infrastructure. Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, who serves as program executive officer for assured access to space and oversees the service's launch range operations, said this week the service is exploring a range of leads for increasing launch access — from new spaceports to international partnerships to newer models like sea-based launch. At the same time, it's also investing in overburdened insfrastructure at its current sites. The Space Force operates two of the busiest spaceports in the world at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The ranges have seen a steady, annual 30% increase in launch business for several years, Panzenhagen said during a May 6 Mitchell Institute event, conducting 144 missions in 2024 — 93 of those from Cape Canaveral. The service is 'not in dire straits,' when it comes to launch capacity, she said, but its infrastructure is supporting a higher mission cadence than any other spaceport in the world — most of that driven by commercial launch business. 'Where we're seeing the need for added capacity is to be able to continue to support those commercial payloads,' Panzenhagen said. 'What we need for the national security space launch, what we're always looking for, is that added resiliency.' To ensure access to more reliable and frequent launch opportunities for both military and commercial missions, the Space Force is investing nearly $1.4 billion through 2028 to improve its existing infrastructure. The program, called Spaceport of the Future Infrastructure, aims to reduce disruption on the service's ranges and sets a goal of conducting at least one launch every day. It also aims to improve the resiliency of infrastructure to things like extreme weather and interference, and reduce the impact an increased launch pace has on personnel and operations. To get after those goals, Panzenhagen said, her team has projects underway to widen roads to accommodate larger rockets, improve airfields, secure communication lines and increase power redundancy. The service is also in talks with international and commercial partners about expanding access to other spaceports or ways of launching. While Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg are the Space Force's primary launch sites, the service has also conducted launches from other domestic sites, including the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Alaska and NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. But the service is also in talks with other countries about taking advantage of their launch infrastructure. Panzenhagen pointed to Japan, New Zealand and France as potential partners in this effort — which she described as still preliminary. She also noted that Norway, the United Kingdom and Sweden have nascent launch capabilities that could be designed with built-in interoperability that makes it easier for international allies to leverage in the future. 'We're at the very early stages of that, but I'm really excited about building those international partnerships,' she said. Panzenhagen said she's also met with several companies that are developing sea-based launch capabilities. While past attempts at a viable sea-launch system have hit technical and financial snags, China has seen some success with that modality. The Space Force is studying options offered by firms like The Spaceport Company, which is building mobile, offshore launch sites. Panzenhagen said these firms still need to prove their business case, but sea-based launch potentially could help relieve congestion at ranges and give the military access to more orbital locations. Among the key considerations for the service are funding — whether companies would rely on government contracts or see opportunities for private investment — and the logistics of transporting a rocket and any associated commodities to a barge. 'It's something that we're interested in seeing what the possibilities are,' Panzenhagen said.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Centennial rocket cleared for National Security Space Launch missions
DENVER (KDVR) — A rocket developer in Centennial has been approved by the United States Space Force to partake in National Security Space Launch missions. The United Launch Alliance created its Vulcan rocket after years of development. After two successful certification missions, the rocket has passed its comprehensive certification plan and is now officially certified by Space Force, according to a press release from the alliance. Boulder wins bid to host the Sundance Film Festival starting in 2027 'Thank you to all our customer partners who have worked hand-in-hand with us throughout this comprehensive certification process. We are grateful for the collaboration and excited to reach this critical milestone in Vulcan development,' said Tory Bruno, ULA's president and CEO in the release. 'Vulcan is uniquely designed to meet the challenging requirements demanded by an expanding spectrum of missions for U.S. national security space launches.' In September of 2016, ULA entered into an agreement with the United States Air Force, who made an outline of how the Vulcan would have to perform in the Air Force's New Entrant Certification Guide. From then until now, the Vulcan has undergone and completed 52 certification criteria, including: 180 'discrete tasks' Two certification flight demonstrations 60 payload interface requirement verfications 18 subsystem design and test reviews 114 hardware and software audits 'The SSC and ULA teams have worked together extremely closely, and certification of this launch system is a direct result of their focus, dedication and teamwork,' said Gen Panzenhagen, Program Executive Officer for Assured Access to Space. The Vulcan possesses the world's highest-performing upper stage, according to the release, which extends ULA's industry-leading legacy of precision. The Centaur V is flexible and durable, allowing it to perform complex orbital insertions. The capabilities of the technology allow large NSSL spacecraft to have direct injection into Geosynchronous Orbit. ULA said it is a critical requirement supporting the country facing evolving threats. The Vulcan rocket is available in four different variations that include the zero, two, four or six solid boosters. The boosters are powered by BE-4 engines, which ULA said are the most powerful liquified natural gas-fueled oxygen-rich staged combustion engine ever flown. 10 high school coaches in Fort Collins terminated after 'violation of district policy' The booster engines can produce 550,000 pounds of thrust. The American-made engines also ended the use of Russia's RD-180 engine. More information about the Vulcan and ULA can be found on its website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ready for 156 Space Coast launches this year, Space Force targets bottlenecks
The Space Force is prepped to support an average of 13 launches of month from the Space Coast in 2025, but it's a juggling act that has the world's No. 1 spaceport running up against infrastructure roadblocks. Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, who leads the Space Force's Assured Access to Space program as well as heads Space Launch Delta 45 based in Brevard County and oversees the Eastern Range, spoke about the challenges at the one-day Space Mobility Conference, part of Space Week at the Orange County Convention Center on Tuesday. 'We've been going up pretty steadily in about a 25-30% increase per year, and I think we'll continue to increase at that rate for at least the next couple years,' she said. The has meant supporting a record 93 launches from either Kennedy Space Center of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in 2024, but the potential to hit as many as 156 from the Space Coast in 2025. The pace has been demanding, she said. 'It's forcing us to innovate, right? We've implemented automation, we relooked at processes and streamlined a lot of things, but it does continue to be a stress on ops tempo when it comes to manpower,' Panzenhagen said. But it also has brought infrastructure shortcomings to the forefront causing backups for national security launches. 'The bottleneck itself is that really we just don't have enough payload processing space,' she said. 'With the launch cadence increasing, we, with our government payloads, are using the same payload processing space that the commercial payloads use.' She noted that was a decision made years ago by the Air Force even before Space Force was created, and one made because it's a commercial service that can be provided, usually the path the military will take to reduce costs. She also noted bigger rockets with multiple payloads may cause logistics delays. 'Oftentimes those payloads have to be processed differently — different clean room standards, different security standards. So that's taking up a tremendous amount of space,' she said. In 2024, the Space Force was able to get extra congressional funds to pursue commercial solutions to a similar bottleneck on the Western Range at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. That solution could mean more square footage or new ways to process satellites. She said a similar request for the Space Coast will be made for 2025. 'So as far as funding goes, when we go to the (Capitol) Hill, we do have a lot of conversations with the members and the staffers,' she said. 'We have gotten a good acknowledgement that they understand the need for it. So we're cautiously optimistic that we'll get some funding in '25.' Another big hurdle to support launches, she said, is real estate. 'We're fortunate because we are operating in a time where we do have that demand,' she said. 'The commercial launch industry is extremely healthy, innovative, growing, but because of that, we don't have enough real estate to give everybody that wants a pad for a different rocket a pad.' Already SpaceX operates at both KSC and Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 40 while United Launch Alliance uses SLC 41 and Blue Origin just had its first launch from Launch Complex 36. Smaller rocket companies Relativity Space and Astra Space have flown in recent years from other Canaveral pads while approvals for several others including Stoke Space and Firefly Aerospace have been granted as well. Meanwhile, SpaceX is looking to build up a new Starship launch pad at the former ULA Delta IV Heavy launch site at Space Launch Complex 37. 'We do have to be very strategic in those decisions because it is a limited resource,' she said. And while the Space Force's primary mission is to support national security, it's married to the need to keep commercial launch providers healthy and happy. 'The very first priority is making sure that we are able to meet the current national security needs that we're posturing to meet the future national security needs because, you know, we're wearing this uniform and that's our job,' she said. 'But that has to be closely coupled with the second question we always ask ourselves: are we promoting a robust and healthy and innovative, competitive commercial industry for launch.'
