{"id":39289,"date":"2018-10-26T15:24:32","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T15:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/10\/26\/us-air-force-explores-space-based-cargo-operations-confirms-talks-with-spacex\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:14:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:14:27","slug":"us-air-force-explores-space-based-cargo-operations-confirms-talks-with-spacex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/airlift-tanker-annual\/2018\/10\/26\/us-air-force-explores-space-based-cargo-operations-confirms-talks-with-spacex\/","title":{"rendered":"US Air Force explores space-based cargo operations, confirms talks with SpaceX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">GRAPEVINE, Texas \u2014 The U.S. Air Force is exploring the logistics of space-based cargo operations under the purview of Air Mobility Command, even as the impact of a new Space Force on the mobility community remains to be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t know how it will affect mobility, but most of you know space affects mobility every day,\u201d Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday at the 2018 Airlift\/Tanker Symposium outside Dallas, Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhatever the Space Force is or does, it has to protect our national interest in space,\u201d he said, adding that GPS is critical to the air mobility community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As for what space cargo operations could look like, the previous head of Air Mobility Command, Gen. Carlton Everhart, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2018\/08\/02\/one-possible-job-for-spacexs-bfr-taking-the-air-forces-cargo-in-and-out-of-space\/\">espoused the possibility of moving cargo using rockets<\/a> during a Defense Writers Group breakfast in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThink about this. Thirty minutes, 150 metric tons [and] less than the cost of a C-5,\u201d he said at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Apart from cargo operations, such a focuses space presence could help with pre-positioning equipment and supplies in orbit, ready to be dropped to Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But in a roundtable with reporters Friday, the new commander of AMC, Gen. Maryanne Miller, said while the command continues to study the possibility, space cargo operations remain at the conceptual stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re continuing, our [planning] community is going to continue to have discussions with the space companies, and we have agreed to just sit with them and just stay up to date with where they\u2019re going with their future plans, to just be at the table with them\u201d she said. \u201cWe won\u2019t commit any resources, but we\u2019ve committed to work with them to see how quickly they progress through that.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One potential would be SpaceX\u2019s next-generation reusable BFR rocket, currently under development. During the roundtable, Miller confirmed that the Air Force had spoken to SpaceX about the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey have talked about moving cargo in space, and we\u2019ve sat down with SpaceX and had that discussion. But it\u2019s really just discussion at this point,&#8221; she said. \u201cOur connection with space is really just going to be at the table with them, to look at how much progress they\u2019re making.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As for what type of cargo could possibly be moved, that\u2019s still being discussed. But in August, Everhart said he\u2019d be willing to stick \u201canything\u201d in space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While it&#8217;s currently just a concept, Air Mobility Command is taking a look at how cargo operations could be done in 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