{"id":459,"date":"2025-04-29T16:36:34","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T16:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/?p=459"},"modified":"2025-04-29T19:45:49","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T19:45:49","slug":"us-space-force-working-to-develop-space-aircraft-carrier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/2025\/04\/29\/us-space-force-working-to-develop-space-aircraft-carrier\/","title":{"rendered":"US Space Force working to develop space &#039;aircraft carrier&#039;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Seattle aerospace startup has been awarded a $60 million contract by the <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/5252912-fight-over-space-command-hq-continues-with-new-watchdog-report\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/5252912-fight-over-space-command-hq-continues-with-new-watchdog-report\/\">U.S. Space Force<\/a> to develop a rapid satellite deployment system to launch new satellites into orbit if existing ones become inoperable.<\/p>\n<p>The company, Gravitics, recently announced plans to design and develop what is being called the Orbital Carrier, which prepositions multiple maneuverable space vehicles that can deliver a rapid response to address threats in orbit.<\/p>\n<p>The carrier provides the Space Force with what the company says is unprecedented flexibility and speed for in-space operations, which significantly enhances the U.S.\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/5270979-house-republicans-pentagon-spending\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/5270979-house-republicans-pentagon-spending\/\">space defense <\/a>posture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Orbital Carrier is a game-changer, acting as a prepositioned launch pad in space,\u201d the company\u2019s CEO, Colin Doughan, said in a statement released by the firm. \u201cIt bypasses traditional launch constraints, enabling space vehicle operators to rapidly select a deployment orbit on demand.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2025\/04\/china-is-freaked-space-force-races-to-finish-first-ever-space-aircraft-carrier\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report on 19fortyfive.com<\/a>, the system is designed to be similar to an aircraft carrier for satellites, providing a rapid response to threats from companies such as China and Russia, which could address satellite interference or attacks.<\/p>\n<p>Funding for the development of the Orbital Carrier comes from SpaceWERX, which is the Space Force\u2019s innovation-focused partnership arm. That fund is fed through a combination of government funds, Small Business Innovation Research reserves and private grants and investments, the company said.<\/p>\n<p>The contract permits Gravitics to both develop and demonstrate the Orbital Carrier, which reports indicate could be ready for demonstration launches as early as 2026, <a href=\"https:\/\/tech.yahoo.com\/articles\/us-space-force-spends-60-110000248.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIwcO99jr0NMNKe_hYoQKvUS8XzzTejkIwdEE_XxOvfefU0ktGxTqETFmDvJIwgtB3bdXmdI2q8N0Bs1EBsP1N00K-ilZUwhxalmfvUfvxV5tSUKLIF7EYADJk-44rstV_wJPMHNy4LHkeVNbAbdGJluVrxmMSvHoMHVCzJ7H8cN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Yahoo Tech reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The vehicle has a volume of approximately 2,119 cubic feet and can launch up to 22,046 pounds of cargo into space, according to the report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Seattle aerospace startup has been awarded a $60 million contract by the U.S. Space Force to develop a rapid satellite deployment system to launch new satellites into orbit if<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/2025\/04\/29\/us-space-force-working-to-develop-space-aircraft-carrier\/\" class=\"readmore\">Continue reading<svg class=\"icon icon-arrow-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"img\"> <use href=\"#icon-arrow-right\" xlink:href=\"#icon-arrow-right\"><\/use> <\/svg><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">US Space Force working to develop space &#039;aircraft carrier&#039;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":460,"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459\/revisions\/460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}