America finds itself in Space Race 2.0 as humanity grows ever more dependent on the advanced technology in orbit and the lines between civil operations and national security are increasingly blurred. Threat Status at The Washington Times delivers in-depth and exclusive coverage as the great power competition for dominance accelerates across the 21st Century Frontier, with China, Russia and others challenging the United States as the world leader in the futuristic domain.
Space analysts and national security insiders say the Russian satellite Cosmos 2612 likely intended to attack a key U.S. radar satellite in what would have been the first instance of warfare in orbit, but that the Kremlin may have called off the operation at the eleventh hour.
The U.S. Space Force last week announced the activation of U.S. Space Forces Special Operations Command.
Four astronauts returned to Earth from the International Space Station on Thursday after hurrying there eight months ago to replace an ailing colleague and his crew.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink made headlines recently by confirming the United States has deployed weapons in space. He did not, however, detail what the weapons were, how they work or if they were targeting other objects in space.
Four crew members aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission launched at 11:10 A.M. EDT Thursday, Oct. 1, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, beginning a science expedition to the International Space Station, NASA announced.
Four astronauts rocketed into orbit Thursday on a space station mission that will stretch until spring, among them a Canadian whose wife will give birth while he’s away.
The Threat Status team was given an exclusive tour during OPERATION Huntsville. Follow Defense Tech Reporter John T. Seward as he gets the inside scoop from curator and space historian Ed Stewart.
NASA is throwing extra support and money behind Boeing’s troubled astronaut capsule to get it fixed and flying again as soon as possible.
NASA welcomed four new Artemis Accords signatories — Albania, Croatia, Cote d’Ivoire and San Marino — bringing total participation to 76 countries, the agency announced.
SpaceX launched its enormous Starship into orbit for the first time Monday, aiming for six full laps around Earth to prove its readiness for NASA’s Artemis moon program.
Mike Creech of Firefly Aerospace joins the show to talk about the company’s upcoming mission to the far side of the moon and what the 21st-century space economy will actually look like.
A federal judge on Monday refused to block the Trump administration from giving SpaceX more than 700 acres (280 hectares) of wildlife refuge as part of a land swap in Texas, while environmental groups vowed to continue their legal challenge.
Honeywell’s Matt Milas joins Threat Status from the floor of AFA 2026 to break down the tech keeping the U.S. military ahead.
Yes, the U.S. military is preparing to fight wars that could stretch to the moon. The nation’s top general says troops must be ready for combat in “cislunar space” — and it comes just days after officials confirmed the U.S. already has weapons in orbit.
The U.S. must be ready to fight and win 21st-century battles on or around the moon, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a major speech Wednesday, as the once-futuristic idea of warfare in space edges closer to reality.
National Security Editor Guy Taylor sits down with Dan Caughran, Senior Vice President of Production Operations, and Gary Wentz, Vice President of Atlas and Vulcan Programs, for a rare look at how the Vulcan Centaur rocket comes together. This project was made in partnership with ULA.
Andrei Samuilovski, 32, a citizen of Estonia, Switzerland, and Russia, pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally export U.S.-origin aviation and aerospace parts to Russia in violation of U.S. sanctions, according to court documents.
The U.S. is developing advanced space weapons and rapidly building the Golden Dome missile shield, key Pentagon officials said Monday, even as military leaders announced new steps to protect American airpower assets from low-cost drone and missile attacks by Iran or other adversaries.
Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink revealed Monday that the U.S. military now has an “on-orbit” space weapon.
As AFA’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference kicks off, retired Lt. Gen. Burt Field — president and CEO of the Air and Space Forces Association — joins Guy Taylor of Threat Status to break down the organization’s 80-year mission.
The two NASA astronauts who led the Artemis II moonshot earlier this year are stepping away from spaceflight.
The U.S. faces a “severe” shortage of qualified engineers and technicians needed to rebuild or replace satellites targeted by China or Russia in a theoretical 21st-century war in space, according to a major new report from the Rand Corp.
Honeywell Aerospace Inc. has agreed to pay $2,042,518 to resolve allegations that it is liable under the False Claims Act for failing to comply with cybersecurity requirements in a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense, the Justice Department announced.
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched Sunday at 7:26 a.m. EDT aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, beginning a three-month, million-mile journey to its final orbit, according to NASA.
Russian satellites are failing to reach the required altitudes to create its own version of SpaceX’s Starlink system, the Institute for the Study of War said this week.
NASA’s newest crown jewel blasted off Sunday to hunt for planets around other stars, explore secret dark energy and survey the cosmos like never before.
Lt. Gen. John Rafferty, the commander of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, joins the show from the recent Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Alabama.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman on Wednesday suggested relocating data centers to Earth orbit, framing the move as a way to sidestep growing public anger over the facilities’ environmental and economic toll in American communities.
SpaceX plans to spend $100 billion on a massive new Louisiana spaceport capable of supporting thousands of rocket launches a year — but not everyone is convinced the state is moving at the right pace.
Suppose China were to reach Mars with a manned mission before the United States.
Elon Musk’s space company plans to spend $100 billion to build a massive new spaceport in Louisiana to launch rockets, state officials and the company announced Tuesday.
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot conducted a spacewalk outside the ISS on Tuesday to complete repairs on a critical communications antenna.
China said on Sunday it was postponing its planned ambitious Chang’e-7 lunar mission, which was set to carry out explorations including searching for water ice on the moon.
The mission to save NASA’s sinking Swift Observatory was called off Wednesday, dooming the telescope to a fiery reentry later this year.
A NASA spacecraft circling the moon is providing the sharpest views yet of the crater carved by a crashing SpaceX rocket.
At the 2026 Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. and current Booz Allen executive adviser Trey Obering and Booz Allen Senior Vice President Michael Davenport join Threat Status to explain the “secret sauce” of missile defense today: integrating systems, networks, and decision tools across the force.
At the 2026 Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, Rep. Dale Strong joins Washington Times Threat Status’ Jason Sickels to explain why any company in space or missile defense needs a presence in the Rocket City.
Lockheed Martin Space President Robert Lightfoot joins Guy Taylor of The Washington Times’ Threat Status at the 2026 Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama.
China’s military is expanding an array of space warfare weapons that pose a major threat to American satellites and the military operations they support, a senior Space Force general said Wednesday.
SpaceX and Tesla are building a semiconductor manufacturing complex in Grimes County, Texas, that the companies say will become the largest building on Earth by floor area, more than 5 times the size of the current record-holder.
China ‘s launch of a rocket carrying a communications satellite on Monday evening was not successful, state media reported, adding that the cause of the failed launch was under investigation.
The future of space-based military operations, the need for quicker replenishment of munitions stockpiles, and President Trump’s Golden Dome missile shield are all in the spotlight as top Pentagon officials and defense contractors descend on a conference that opens here Tuesday.
Threat Status has partnered with Arlington-based Shield Capital portfolio company Obviant to take a deep dive into the critical line items in the 2027 NDAA during OPERATION Huntsville and the 2026 Space and Missile Defense Symposium.
On July 31, an important article appeared in the Wall Street Journal: “From Lunar Landing to Lunar Land Rights: Establishing Property in Space Is Crucial to Unlocking Its Economic Potential.”