The U.S. Space Force is funding the development of a new “Orbital Carrier” spacecraft that can deploy multiple satellites when needed.
The Orbital Carrier is being designed by Seattle-based company Gravitics and is funded through the Space Force’s SpaceWERX development office, which partners with private industry to develop new technologies and spacecraft. SpaceWERX has set aside up to $60 million to fund the development of Gravitics’ Orbital Carrier concept.
The Orbital Carrier is designed to carry “multiple maneuverable space vehicles that can deliver a rapid response to address threats on orbit,” Gravitics wrote in a statement. That means it will act as the space-based equivalent of an aircraft carrier, ready to rapidly deploy satellites in response to any threats to U.S. spacecraft in orbit.
In recent years, the U.S. Space Force has been pushing for the development of more responsive spacecraft operations. This means being able to quickly reposition satellites in orbit, or being able to launch spacecraft on accelerated timelines.
In the statement, Gravitics CEO Colin Doughan said the Orbital Carrier concept is a “critical initiative” for the U.S. Space Force’s ability to position spacecraft quickly and defend assets in orbit. “The Orbital Carrier is a game-changer, acting as a pre-positioned launch pad in space. It bypasses traditional launch constraints, enabling space vehicle operators to rapidly select a deployment orbit on-demand.”
Space Force leadership has been warning that potential adversaries such as China and Russia are developing and testing new anti-satellite weaponry and capabilities, and even “practicing dogfighting in space.” Typically, counter-space operations involve radiofrequency jamming, cyberattacks or using lasers to blind sensors on spy satellites.
In response, the U.S. Space Force has created units dedicated exclusively to targeting adversary satellites, has conducted “live fire” jamming exercises against simulated adversary spacecraft and has trained units in “simulated on-orbit combat.”
But with Orbital Carrier, the service is signaling that it wants to be able to put new satellites in strategic orbits as potential adversaries conduct active operations. If an adversary satellite were to blind, or “dazzle,” a crucial optical spy satellite with a laser, for example, a spacecraft waiting in the Orbital Carrier could be quickly deployed to block the line-of-sight between the two and restore the spy satellite to operation. Or, if an individual satellite in a constellation gets damaged or degraded, the Orbital Carrier could quickly deploy a new one, fulfilling the “pre-positioned launch pad” role Gravitics envisions.
Space Force has been developing and testing these rapid response capabilities in recent years, launching some satellites within timelines of just five months from order to orbit.
The service’s “Victox Nox” mission in late 2023 saw Firefly Aerospace launch a Space Force payload within just 27 hours of being given the order, setting a new responsive launch record.
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