The Victus Haze mission was more complex than the Victus Nox, involving two prime contractors, two spacecraft, and two rocket launches from different spaceports, “to keep the demonstration as realistic as possible. ” All will be done on a short schedule, a Space Force spokesperson said. Ars.
“This demonstration will ultimately help the U.S. Space Force provide future forces for combatant commands to conduct rapid operations in response to enemy attacks in orbit,” the Space Systems Command said in a statement. We will prepare to do so.”
Belief in commercial space
“This is a really important operational demonstration that really pushes the boundaries of technology and shows tremendous confidence in America's industrial base,” Rogers said.
“Essentially, this is characterizing an unknown capability for the first time in low Earth orbit,” Rogers said in an interview with Ars. “The challenges associated with that are numerous: how do we track objects maneuvering in low Earth orbit with consistent communications coverage, limited space domain awareness capabilities, and what is the appropriate level of autonomy and human interaction?” Is not it?”
True Anomaly's first two Jackal satellites launched last month on a SpaceX rideshare mission, but weeks later the company announced that the two satellites would not be able to complete their planned rendezvous demonstration. This should bode well for the type of activity that True Anomaly and Rocket Lab will demonstrate at Victus Haze.
Rogers said his company is working on two more demonstration missions scheduled to fly before Victus Haze.
The military's Defense Innovation Unit awarded Rocket Lab $32 million as part of the Victus Haze mission. His contract with True Anomaly and SpaceWERX, the Space Force's innovation arm, is worth his $30 million. True Anomaly is contributing $30 million in private capital to help pay for the mission, bringing the total cost of Victus Haze to approximately $92 million. Space Safari, a division of Space Systems Command, is overseeing the entire project.
“We have a significant opportunity to leverage innovation in the commercial space industry to counter China, which threatens our pace,” said Col. Bryon McClain, Space Systems Command's program executive officer for Space Domain Awareness and Combat Power. I am aware of it.” “The United States has the most innovative space industry in the world. Victus Haze will demonstrate our ability to respond to irresponsible behavior in orbit under operationally realistic conditions.”
“Once the construction phase is complete, the mission will enter several sequential phases, including hot standby, power-up, alert, and launch phases,” the Space Force said. “While this is a coordinated demonstration, each vendor will have its own launch and mission profile.”
The True Anomaly Jackal satellite is about the size of a refrigerator and will be launched on a “high-speed rideshare” mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida or Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, Space Systems Command said. . This will most likely be a shared launch using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. Launching on a rideshare flight presents different challenges than launching on a dedicated rocket, like last year's Victus Knox mission.
True Anomaly says the satellite can be removed from storage and integrated with the rocket within 12 to 84 hours, depending on the launch provider's flight rhythm. After True Anomaly's Jackal launch, the Space Force will give Rocket Lab a 24-hour summons to launch a satellite the same size as True Anomaly's spacecraft on an Electron rocket from New Zealand or Virginia. Rocket Lab's launches must be timed precisely so that the satellite can rendezvous with True Anomaly's spacecraft in orbit.