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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
September 5, 2024
NGC 247 and Friends
About 70,000 light-years across, NGC 247 is a spiral galaxy smaller than our Milky Way. Measured to be only 11 million light-years distant it is nearby though. Tilted nearly edge-on as seen from our perspective, it dominates this telescopic field of view toward the southern constellation Cetus. The pronounced void on one side of the galaxy's disk recalls for some its popular name, the Needle's Eye galaxy. Many background galaxies are visible in this sharp galaxy portrait, including the remarkable string of four galaxies just below and left of NGC 247 known as Burbidge's Chain. Burbidge's Chain galaxies are about 300 million light-years distant. NGC 247 itself is part of the Sculptor Group of galaxies along with shiny spiral NGC 253.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
NASA astronaut spots mysterious bright green flash while on the ISS
Updated: 16:44 EDT, 4 September 2024
A NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) captured a stunning video of a bright green explosion that occurred more than 250 miles above Earth.
Astronaut Matthew Dominick captured a video of the mysterious light and asked the public for help identifying the source of the flash.
'I showed this to a couple of friends yesterday to see what they thought. They both thought it was a meteor exploding in the atmosphere - a rather bright one called a bolide,' he wrote on X.
Bolides are a type of 'fireball,' which are meteors that reach a brightness greater than magnitude -4. That's roughly as bright as the planet Venus seen in the morning or evening sky, according to the American Meteor Society (AMA)
The difference between boldies and fireballs is that boldies explode upon entering Earth's atmosphere, like the one that Dominick captured on video.
Thousands of meteors of fireball magnitude occur in Earth's atmosphere each day. according to the AMA. But not all of them become boldies.
These exploding meteors are relatively rare and quite difficult to spot because their flashes only last a few seconds.
Dominick was lucky to capture this one while filming a timelapse of Earth as the ISS flew over North Africa.
Just after the space station passed over Cairo, Egypt, a brilliant explosion flashed green and then white over our planet.
'Timelapse was setup over Northern Africa where it was very dark with lightning. I got greedy with ISO (25600) and when the timelapse got to Cairo the cities were overexposed,' he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
'I was greedy because I wanted the Milky Way Core. When I went to review the shots afterwards I found the bolide.'
The astronaut posted two videos of the event: a frame-by-frame time-lapse that shows the flash in slow motion, and a faster version.
Both show the meteor streaking over Cairo, Eqypt before bursting into flames.
Dominick launched on a mission to the ISS in March as the commander of NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 mission.
Over the last five months, he has shared numerous photos and videos taken from his vantage point high above our planet.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13812747/nasa-astronaut-green-light-iss-video.html
https://twitter.com/dominickmatthew/status/1831108500518240344?
NASA Earth Scientists Take Flight, Set Sail to Verify PACE Satellite Data
Sep 04, 2024
From sea to sky to orbit, a range of vantage points allow NASA Earth scientists to collect different types of data to better understand our changing planet.
Collecting them together, at the same place and the same time, is an important step used to verify the accuracy of satellite data.
NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite launched in February 2024 and is collecting observations of the ocean and measuring atmospheric particle and cloud properties.
This data will help inform scientists and decision makers about the health of Earth’s ocean, land surfaces, and atmosphere and the interactions between them.
To make sure the data from PACE’s instruments accurately represent the ocean and the atmosphere, scientists compare (or “validate”) the data collected from orbit with measurements they collect at or near Earth’s surface.
The mission’s biggest validation campaign, called PACE Postlaunch Airborne eXperiment (PACE-PAX), began on Sept. 3, 2024, and will last the entire month.
“If we want to have confidence in the observations from PACE, we need to validate those observations,” said Kirk Knobelspiesse, mission scientist for PACE-PAX and an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
“This field campaign is focused on doing just that.”
Scientists will make measurements both from aircraft and ships.
Based out of three locations across California — Marina, Santa Barbara, and NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards — the campaign includes more than 100 people working in the field and several dozen instruments.
“This campaign allows us to validate data for both the atmosphere and the ocean, all in one campaign,” said Brian Cairns, deputy mission scientist for PACE-PAX and an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City.
On the ocean, ships, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research vessel Shearwater, will gather data on ocean biology and the optical properties of the water.
Scientists onboard will gather water samples to help define the types of phytoplankton at different locations and their relative abundance, something that PACE’s hyperspectral Ocean Color Instrument measures from orbit.
Overhead, a Twin Otter research aircraft operated by the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, will collect data on the atmosphere.
At altitudes of up to 10,000 feet, the aircraft will sample and measure cloud droplet sizes, aerosol sizes, and the amount of light that those particles scatter and absorb.
These are the atmospheric properties that PACE observes with its two polarimeters, SPEXOne and HARP2.
At a higher altitude — approximately 70,000 feet up — NASA’s ER-2 aircraft will provide a complementary view from above clouds, looking down on the atmosphere and ocean in finer detail than the satellite, but with a narrower view.
The plane will carry several instruments that are similar to those on PACE, including two prototypes of PACE’s polarimeters, called SPEXAirborne and AirHARP.
In addition, two instruments called the Portable Remote Imaging SpectroMeter and Pushbroom Imager for Cloud and Aerosol Research and Development — from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasedena, California, and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, respectively — will measure essentially all the wavelengths of visible light (color).
The remote sensing measurements are key for scientists who want to test the methods they use to analyze PACE satellite data.
Together, the instruments on the ER-2 approximate the data that PACE gathers and complement the in situ measurements from the ocean research vessel and the Twin Otter.
As the field campaign team gathers data, PACE will be observing the same areas of the ocean surface and atmosphere.
Once the campaign is over, scientists will look at the data PACE returned and compare them to the measurements they took from the other three vantage points.
“Once you launch the satellite, there’s no more tinkering you can do,” said Ivona Cetinic, deputy mission scientist for PACE-PAX and an ocean scientist at NASA Goddard.
Though the scientists cannot alter the satellite anymore, the algorithms designed to interpret PACE data can be adjusted to make the measurements more accurate.
Validation checks from campaigns like PACE-PAX help scientists ensure that PACE will be able to return accurate data about our oceans and atmosphere — critical to better understand our changing planet and its interconnected systems — for years to come.
https://www.nasa.gov/earth/nasa-earth-scientists-take-flight-set-sail-to-verify-pace-satellite-data/
SpaceX Starlink Mission
SpaceX is targeting Thursday, September 5 for a Falcon 9 launch of 21 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 11:33 a.m. ET, with additional opportunities available until 12:31 p.m. ET.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX.
This is the 15th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-5, GPS III Space Vehicle 06, Inmarsat I6-F2, CRS-28, Intelsat G-37, NG-20, and eight Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read The Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-8-11
NASA Astronaut Don Pettit’s Science of Opportunity on Space Station
Sep 04, 2024
Science ideas are everywhere. Some of the greatest discoveries have come from tinkering and toying with new concepts and ideas.
NASA astronaut Don Pettit is no stranger to inventing and discovering.
During his previous missions, Pettit has contributed to advancements for human space exploration aboard the International Space Station resulting in several published scientific papers and breakthroughs.
Pettit, accompanied by cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, will launch to the orbiting laboratory in September 2024.
In preparation for his fourth spaceflight, read about previous “science of opportunity” experiments Pettit performed during his free time with materials readily available to the crew or included in his personal kit.
Have you ever noticed a white bubble inside the ice in your ice tray at home? This is trapped air that accumulates in one area due to gravity.
Pettit took this knowledge, access to a -90° Celsius freezer aboard the space station, and an open weekend to figure out how water freezes in microgravity compared to on Earth.
This photo uses polarized light to show thin frozen water and the visible differences from the ice we typically freeze here on Earth, providing more insight into physics concepts in microgravity.
Microgravity affects even the most mundane tasks, like sipping your morning tea. Typically, crews drink beverages from a specially sealed bag with a straw.
Using an overhead transparency film, Pettit invented the prototype of the Capillary Beverage, or Space Cup.
The cup uses surface tension, wetting, and container shape to mimic the role of gravity in drinking on Earth, making drinking beverages in space easier to consume and showing how discoveries aboard station can be used to design new systems.
Using materials that break into very small particles, such as table salt, sugar, and coffee, Pettit experimented to understand planetary formation.
A crucial early step in planet formation is the aggregation or clumping of tiny particles, but scientists do not fully understand this process.
Pettit placed different particulate mixtures in plastic bags, filled them with air, thoroughly shook the bags, and observed that the particles clumped within seconds due to what appears to be an electrostatic process.
Studying the behavior of tiny particles in microgravity may provide valuable insight into how material composition, density, and turbulence play a role in planetary formation.
Knitting needles made of different materials arrived aboard station as personal crew items. Pettit electrically charged the needles by rubbing each one with paper.
Then, he released charged water from a Teflon syringe and observed the water droplets orbit the knitting needle, demonstrating electrostatic orbits in microgravity.
The study was later repeated in a simulation that included atmospheric drag, and the 3D motion accurately matched the orbits seen in the space station demonstration.
These observations could be analogous to the behavior of charged particles in Earth’s magnetic field and prove useful in designing future spacecraft systems.
An innovative photographer, Pettit has used time exposure, multiple cameras, infrared, and other techniques to contribute breathtaking images of Earth and star trails from the space station’s unique viewpoint.
These photos contribute to a database researchers use to understand Earth’s changing landscapes, and this imagery can inspire the public’s interest in human spaceflight.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/nasa-astronaut-don-pettits-science-of-opportunity-on-space-station/
Gateway’s Propulsion System Testing Throttles Up
Sep 04, 2024
The powerhouse of Gateway, NASA’s orbiting outpost around the Moon and a critical piece of infrastructure for Artemis, is in the midst of several electric propulsion system tests.
The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), being manufactured by Maxar Technologies, provides Gateway with power, high-rate communications, and propulsion for maneuvers around the Moon and to transit between different orbits.
The PPE will be combined with the Habitation and Logistic Outpost (HALO) before the integrated spacecraft’s launch.
Together, these elements will serve as the hub for early Gateway crewed operations and various science and technology demonstrations as the full Gateway station is assembled around it in the coming years.
In this image, PPE engineers successfully tested the integration of Aerojet Rocketdyne’s thruster with Maxar’s power procession unit and Xenon Flow Controller.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/gateways-propulsion-system-testing-throttles-up/
NASA's Webb Reveals Distorted Galaxy Forming Cosmic Question Mark
September 04, 2024 10:00AM (EDT)
It’s 7 billion years ago, and the universe’s heyday of star formation is beginning to slow. What might our Milky Way galaxy have looked like at that time?
Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have found clues in the form of a cosmic question mark, the result of a rare alignment across light-years of space.
"We know of only three or four occurrences of similar gravitational lens configurations in the observable universe, which makes this find exciting, as it demonstrates the power of Webb and suggests maybe now we will find more of these,” said astronomer Guillaume Desprez of Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a member of the team presenting the Webb results.
While this region has been observed previously with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, the dusty red galaxy that forms the intriguing question-mark shape only came into view with Webb.
This is a result of the wavelengths of light that Hubble detects getting trapped in cosmic dust, while longer wavelengths of infrared light are able to pass through and be detected by Webb’s instruments.
Astronomers used both telescopes to observe the galaxy cluster MACS-J0417.5-1154, which acts like a magnifying glass because the cluster is so massive it warps the fabric of space-time.
This allows astronomers to see enhanced detail in much more distant galaxies behind the cluster.
However, the same gravitational effects that magnify the galaxies also cause distortion, resulting in galaxies that appear smeared across the sky in arcs and even appear multiple times.
These optical illusions in space are called gravitational lensing.
The red galaxy revealed by Webb, along with a spiral galaxy it is interacting with that was previously detected by Hubble, are being magnified and distorted in an unusual way, which requires a particular, rare alignment between the distant galaxies, the lens, and the observer — something astronomers call a hyperbolic umbilic gravitational lens.
This accounts for the five images of the galaxy pair seen in Webb’s image, four of which trace the top of the question mark.
The dot of the question mark is an unrelated galaxy that happens to be in the right place and space-time, from our perspective.
In addition to producing a case study of the Webb NIRISS (Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph) instrument’s ability to detect star formation locations within a galaxy billions of light-years away, the research team also couldn’t resist highlighting the question mark shape.
“This is just cool looking. Amazing images like this are why I got into astronomy when I was young,” said astronomer Marcin Sawicki of Saint Mary’s University, one of the lead researchers on the team.
“Knowing when, where, and how star formation occurs within galaxies is crucial to understanding how galaxies have evolved over the history of the universe,” said astronomer Vicente Estrada-Carpenter of Saint Mary’s University, who used both Hubble’s ultraviolet and Webb’s infrared data to show where new stars are forming in the galaxies. The results show that star formation is widespread in both.
The spectral data also confirmed that the newfound dusty galaxy is located at the same distance as the face-on spiral galaxy, and they are likely beginning to interact.
“Both galaxies in the Question Mark Pair show active star formation in several compact regions, likely a result of gas from the two galaxies colliding,” said Estrada-Carpenter.
“However, neither galaxy’s shape appears too disrupted, so we are probably seeing the beginning of their interaction with each other.”
“These galaxies, seen billions of years ago when star formation was at its peak, are similar to the mass that the Milky Way galaxy would have been at that time.
Webb is allowing us to study what the teenage years of our own galaxy would have been like,” said Sawicki.
https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2024/news-2024-128
Research Plane Dons New Colors for NASA Hybrid Electric Flight Tests
Sep 04, 2024
Parked under the lights inside a hangar in Seattle, a hybrid electric research aircraft from electric motor manufacturer magniX showed off a new look symbolizing its journey toward helping NASA make sustainable aviation a reality.
During a special unveiling ceremony hosted by magniX on Aug. 22, leaders from the company and NASA revealed the aircraft, with its new livery, to the public for the first time at King County International Airport, commonly known as Boeing Field.
The aircraft is a De Havilland Dash 7 that was formerly used for carrying cargo.
Working under NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project, magniX will modify it to serve as a testbed for hybrid electric aircraft propulsion research.
The company’s goal under EPFD is to demonstrate potential fuel savings and performance boosts with a hybrid electric system for regional aircraft carrying up to 50 passengers.
These efforts will help reduce environmental impacts from aviation by lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
This livery recognizes the collaborative effort focused on proving that hybrid electric flight for commercial aircraft is feasible.
“We are a research organization that continues to advance aviation, solve the problems of flight, and lead the community into the future,” said Robert A. Pearce, associate administrator for NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate.
“Through our EPFD project, we’re taking big steps in partnership to make sure electric aviation is part of the future of commercial flight.”
NASA is collaborating with industry to modify existing planes with new electrified aircraft propulsion systems.
These aircraft testbeds will help demonstrate the benefits of hybrid electric propulsion systems in reducing fuel burn and emissions for future commercial aircraft, part of NASA’s broader mission to make air travel more sustainable.
“EPFD is about showing how regional-scale aircraft, through ground and flight tests, can be made more sustainable through electric technology that is available right now,” said Ben Loxton, vice president for magniX’s work on the EPFD project.
Thus far, magniX has focused on developing a battery-powered engine and testing it on the ground to make sure it will be safe for work in the air. The company will now begin transitioning over to a new phase of the project — transforming the Dash 7 into a hybrid electric research vehicle.
“With the recent completion of our preliminary design review and baseline flight tests, this marks a transition to the next phase, and the most exciting phase of the project: the modification of this Dash 7 with our magniX electric powertrain,” Loxton said.
To make this possible, magniX is working with their airframe integrator AeroTEC to help modify and prepare the aircraft for flight tests that will take place out of Moses Lake, Washington. Air Tindi, which supplied the aircraft to magniX for this project, will help with maintenance and support of the aircraft during the testing phases.
A typical hybrid electric propulsion system combines different sources of energy, such as fuel and electricity, to power an aircraft. For magniX’s demonstration, the modified Dash 7 will feature two electric engines fed by battery packs stored in the cabin, and two gas-powered turboprops.
The work will begin with replacing one of the aircraft’s outer turboprop engines with a new, magni650-kilowatt electric engine – the base of its hybrid electric system.
After testing those modifications, magniX will swap out the remaining outer turboprop engine for an additional electric one.
Earlier this year, magniX and NASA marked the milestone completion of successfully testing the battery-powered engine at simulated altitude.
Engineers at magniX are continuing ground tests of the aircraft’s electrified systems and components at NASA’s Electric Aircraft Testbed (NEAT) facility in Sandusky, Ohio.
By rigorously testing these new technologies under simulated flight conditions, such as high altitudes and extreme temperatures, researchers can ensure each component operates safely before taking to the skies.
The collaboration between EPFD, NASA, GE Aerospace, and magniX works to advance hybrid electric aircraft propulsion technologies for next-generation commercial aircraft in the mid-2030 timeframe.
NASA is working with these companies to conduct two flight demonstrations showcasing different approaches to hybrid electric system design.
Researchers will use data gathered from ground and flight tests to identify and reduce certification gaps, as well as inform the development of new standards and regulations for future electrified aircraft.
https://www.nasa.gov/aeronautics/hybrid-electric-aircrafts-new-colors/
NASA Spots a Surprising Series of Disturbances Shaking Antarctica’s Sky
September 4, 2024
It’s been an unsettled winter in the atmosphere above Antarctica. About 30 kilometers above the continent’s icy surface, in the layer known as the stratosphere, a series of warming events took place starting in July 2024.
July temperatures in the stratosphere above Antarctica are typically around minus 80 degrees Celsius (minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit).
On July 7, temperatures in the middle of the stratosphere jumped 15°C (27°F), setting a record for the warmest July temperatures observed in the stratosphere in the Antarctic region.
The temperature then cooled off on July 22 before rising 17°C (31°F) on August 5.
These sudden stratospheric warming events surprised Lawrence Coy and Paul Newman, atmospheric scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
Coy and Newman develop complex data assimilation and reanalysis models of Earth’s atmosphere for NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO).
“The July event was the earliest stratospheric warming ever observed in GMAO’s entire 44-year record,” Coy said.
Westerly winds in this layer of the atmosphere loop around the South Pole in winter, moving about 300 kilometers (200 miles) per hour, forming what is known as the polar vortex.
But sometimes something happens that disrupts this symmetric circumpolar flow, causing winds to weaken and the flow to change shape.
Instead of circulating the South Pole, the polar vortex becomes elongated and winds weaken; the weakening winds result in considerable stratospheric warming over Antarctica.
The maps above show air temperatures in the middle stratosphere (at about 30 kilometers altitude or 10 hectopascals of pressure) for August 5, 2023 (left) and August 5, 2024 (right).
The elongation of the polar vortex and higher temperatures closer to the pole are evident in the 2024 map.
Data for the maps are from NASA’s GEOS forward processing (GEOS-FP) model, which assimilates meteorological data from satellite, aircraft, and ground-based observing systems.
The map below shows potential vorticity—a quantity that describes how air masses are spinning—in the stratosphere on August 5, 2024.
Areas of high potential vorticity appear yellow and have a clockwise circulation; areas of low potential vorticity appear purple and have a counterclockwise circulation.
The polar vortex had elongated and weakened, and the flow of wind was shaped like a peanut instead of its usual circular pattern.
Unlike in the Arctic, which experiences sudden stratospheric warming events about once a year, the polar vortex in the Southern Hemisphere is typically much less active.
“Sudden warming events happen in the Antarctic once every five years or so, much less frequently than the Arctic,” Coy said.
The reason for this, Coy added, is likely that there is more terrain in the Northern Hemisphere that can disrupt wind flow in the troposphere—the layer of air closest to the ground.
These large-scale tropospheric weather systems move upward into the stratosphere and disrupt the polar vortex.
Weather in the Antarctic troposphere was also unusual in July.
Temperatures more than 4°C (7.2°F) above average covered large parts of the Antarctic continent, and for the Antarctic region as a whole, the month tied July 1991 as the fifth-warmest July on record.
However, Newman noted that attributing the weather that people experience in the troposphere—including a July snowstorm in Australia—to sudden stratospheric warming is not clear cut.
Researchers also continue to investigate the origin of disturbances at the surface that end up disrupting the stratosphere.
“Variations in sea surface temperatures and sea ice can perturb these large-scale weather systems in the troposphere that propagate upwards,” Newman said.
“But the attribution of why these systems develop is really difficult to do.”
Within the stratosphere, scientists have shown that sudden warming events are tied to higher concentrations of ozone over Antarctica.
The stratospheric ozone layer protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet light, which damages DNA in plants and animals (including humans) and can lead to skin cancer.
The change of circulation that comes with a stratospheric warming event draws ozone from other latitudes toward the polar region. So far in 2024, the ozone hole over the Southern Hemisphere has been smaller than usual.
https://scitechdaily.com/nasa-spots-a-surprising-series-of-disturbances-shaking-antarcticas-sky/
New Zealand to join US-led multi-national space operation
September 5, 2024 3:28pm
New Zealand has accepted an invitation to join the UK, Canada and Australia as part of a US-led space initiative known as Operation Olympic Defender, Minister of Defence Judith Collins announced.
The operation was designed to coordinate space capabilities of member nations by deterring hostile actions in space, enhancing resilience of space-based systems and reducing the spread of debris in orbit.
In a statement, Minister of Defence Judith Collins said a New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) liaison officer would be deployed to the US Space Command in Colorado for the next two years.
"Deploying a liaison officer as part of this operation will further enhance the NZDF's experience in space operations and shows New Zealand's willingness to uphold the norms of responsible behaviour in space.
"Space-based technologies are essential to New Zealand’s security and wellbeing, such as using satellite imagery to help track illegal fishing, or GPS to support our maritime supply chains," Collins said.
She said utilising space assets enabled better communication through faster and better-informed decision making "to maintain an effective, efficient, combat capable Defence Force".
New Zealand is already a member of a forum aimed at building norms of behaviour in space and removing barriers to multinational military space cooperation amongst like-minded nations — called the Combined Space Operations initiative.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/09/05/new-zealand-to-join-us-led-multi-national-space-operation/
UK-US integration key to future of space security
Sept. 4, 2024
U.S. Space Force Lt. Gen. David N. Miller, Jr., commander of Space Operations Command, and Chief Master Sgt. Caleb Lloyd, SpOC senior enlisted leader, met with Airmen, Guardians and UK counterparts during a visit Aug. 27-30.
The SpOC command team visited RAF Waddington, Feltwell and High Wycombe to engage with members of the Space Force on morale, readiness, and interoperability with host nation partners.
A key aspect of the command team’s visit included emphasizing the importance of our allied partnerships and celebrating the contributions of Guardians in furthering the force’s integration with the UK’s national security space program.
“We are working alongside the UK to secure the space domain all while navigating its complexities together,” Miller said.
“In order to compete in today’s environment, we will continue to look for ways to strengthen partnerships with key allies like the UK”
A key stop in this visit included seeing the mission of the 73rd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron, Detachment 4 first-hand.
“Det. 4 is an all-star team of people who are leveraging the latest technology in global surveillance, partnering with allies and other intelligence agencies to constantly improve,” Miller said.
Since its inception in 2019, the Space Force’s mission has evolved to ensure freedom of action and defend U.S. interests in space.
Space capabilities have become an integral part of everyday life and a crucial component underpinning global security and economy.
As the Space Force enters its fifth year to meet the demands of an era of Great Power Competition, the service is transitioning from a focus on establishment, to looking for continued opportunities to sharpen its training, tactics and procedures.
“Guardians and Airmen stationed here provide a level of mission readiness necessary to operate in space in a way that ensures its long-term safety, stability, and sustainability for future generations,” Lloyd said.
“The resiliency of these teams in the face of change is fundamental and what we need in our Space Force.”
The Space Force’s close ties with the UK are recognizable in the recent appointment of Royal Air Force Air Marshal Paul Godfrey as a strategic advisor to the Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman.
Godfrey will work with Saltzman in the Pentagon and advise on international cooperation in space.
“This is a significant step forward in promoting closer cooperation with an important ally, and it exemplifies the kind of partnership we need to internalize as a service,” Saltzman said in a recent letter to Guardians.
“RAF Air Marshal Godfrey’s arrival is unprecedented, and it pushes the boundaries of what it means to be integrated by design.”
Throughout the visit, the SpOC command team shared their vision for the Space Force’s future and fostered an open dialogue with each Airman and Guardian met.
“Our priorities remain clear,” Miller said. “Integration with our allies is key; by working together, we strengthen our capabilities and ensure a secure future in space.”
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3894758/uk-us-integration-key-to-future-of-space-security/