U.S. Defense Strategy Document Pledges Commercial Space Protection

In a first-of-its-kind shift in stated strategy, the Biden Administration pledged, in a document that outlines Pentagon plans, to protect growing American commercial interests in space while advancing military space capabilities and international cooperation in orbit. Military space has returned to the spotlight in recent years after a slump that accompanied the end of the Cold War.

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Solving Space Junk Problem Could Net Federal Prize

Polar objects in orbit

A grand prize could be in the offing for inventors who come up with new methods to prevent orbiting debris or design tools that can clean up space junk, according to recommendations from the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy.

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Space Matters: Experts Call for More Governance in LEO

The Wild West regulatory environment in low Earth orbit was ranked as a top threat to space sustainability by a panel of experts convened for Space Symposium 365’s Space Matters webcast Thursday.

Clockwise from top left, panelists former Rep. Robert Walker, Carissa Christensen, former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, and Patricia Cooper.

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Pentagon Nominates Domain Awareness Expert to Lead Space Force

Saltzman

One of the U.S. military’s top experts in space domain awareness has been nominated to become the Pentagon’s second Chief of Space Operations. Lt. Gen. Chance “Salty” Saltzman was nominated Thursday to take the space service’s top job. If his promotion is confirmed by the Senate, Saltzman will have rocketed in three years from wearing a single star to pinning four to his uniform.

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