US Space Force plans to conduct first military exercises in orbit

“Vendors will work through a realistic threat response scenario.”

The US Space Force announced Thursday it is collaborating with two companies, Rocket Lab and True Anomaly, on a first-of-its-kind mission designed to demonstrate how the military can counter “orbital aggression.”

During this mission, the spacecraft, built and launched by Rocket Lab, will chase another satellite built by True Anomaly, a Colorado startup. “Vendors will work on a realistic scenario called 'Victus Haze,' which involves responding to threats in orbital space,” the Space Force's Space Systems Command said in a statement.

This scenario could involve the satellite performing approach maneuvers towards a US spacecraft, or the satellite performing other unusual or unexpected actions. In such a scenario, the Space Force wants to be able to respond to either deter an adversary from taking action or protect a U.S. satellite from attack.

Let's rise to take a look

“When another country puts an object into space and we don't really understand what it is, we don't know its intent, we don't know its capabilities, we need to be able to get up there and figure out what that thing is,” said General Michael Getlein. Deputy Chief of Space Force for Space Operations.

That's what the Space Force wants to demonstrate with “Victus Haze.” For this mission, the True Anomaly spacecraft will be launched first, posing as a satellite of a potential adversary such as China or Russia. Rocket Lab will have a satellite on standby that will rise and check out the True Anomaly spacecraft and launch it when the Space Force gives the command to launch.

“It’s quite an interesting competition,” says Even Rogers, co-founder and CEO of True Anomaly.

Then, if all goes according to plan, the two spacecraft will switch roles and True Anomaly's Jackal satellite will actively maneuver around Rocket Lab's satellite. According to Space Force, True Anomaly and Rocket Lab will deliver their spacecraft no later than fall 2025.

“If a nearby competitor takes a certain action, we need to be able to make a counter-maneuver, whether it's a show of force or space awareness or understanding the characteristics of the environment—understanding what's going on?” said Getlein.

“Victus Haze” is the next in a series of military missions dedicated to testing the capabilities of tactical operational space (TacRS). Through these efforts, the Space Force and its commercial partners have demonstrated how they can reduce satellite preparation and launch time.

Last year, the Space Force partnered with Firefly Aerospace and Millennium Space Systems to carry out the Victus Nox mission. The Victus Nox satellite was built and tested in less than a year, and then ready for launch in less than 60 hours. Firefly successfully launched the spacecraft on its Alpha rocket 27 hours after receiving launch orders from the Space Force. This is a remarkable achievement in an industry where satellites take years to build and launch campaigns typically last weeks or months.

“We no longer have the luxury of waiting years, 10 or 15 years, to secure some of these opportunities,” Getlein said during a discussion held in January at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Tactically significant timescales are a matter of weeks, days or even hours.”

“'Victus Haze' is a continuation of breaking those paradigms and demonstrating how we can quickly gain space domain awareness and respond to threats in real time,” Getlein said.

The Victus Haze mission is more complex than Victus Nox, involving two prime contractors, two spacecraft and two rocket launches from different launch sites, all on a tight schedule “to ensure the demonstration is as realistic as possible,” he said. Ars representative of the Space Force.

“This demonstration will ultimately prepare the U.S. Space Force to provide future combatant commands with the capability to conduct rapid operations in response to adversary aggression in orbit,” Space Systems Command said in a statement.

Faith in commercial space

“This is a truly significant operational demonstration that truly advances technological capabilities and demonstrates faith in the U.S. industrial base,” Rogers said.

“Essentially, this is about characterizing unknown capabilities in low Earth orbit for the first time,” Rogers told Ars. “There are a number of problems that arise in this regard: how to track the maneuvers of an object in low Earth orbit with limited space control capabilities, what will be the right balance between autonomy and human interaction.”

True Anomaly's first two “Jackal” satellites launched as part of SpaceX's rideshare program last month, but the company announced weeks later that both satellites would be unable to complete the planned rendezvous demonstration. This would be a precursor to the type of activity that True Anomaly and Rocket Lab will demonstrate at Victus Haze.

According to Rogers, his company is working on two more demonstration flights that will take place before Victus Haze.

The US Defense Innovation Unit has awarded Rocket Lab $32 million for its part of the “Victus Haze” mission. True Anomaly's contract with SpaceWERX, the innovation arm of the Space Force, is valued at $30 million. True Anomaly will contribute $30 million in private capital to 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 see a great opportunity to leverage the innovations of the commercial space industry to counter China as America's top threat,” said Col. Bryon McClain, Space Systems Command's program manager for space awareness and combat power. “The United States has the most innovative space industry in the world. Victus Haze will demonstrate, in an operationally realistic manner, our ability to respond to irresponsible behavior in orbit.”

“Once the establishment phase is completed, the mission will move into several sequential phases, including the hot standby, activation, alert and launch phases,” Space Force officials said. “While this is a coordinated demonstration, each vendor will be provided with unique launch and mission profiles.”

True Anomaly's Jackal satellite, nearly the size of a refrigerator, will be launched on a “quick trip” from Cape Canaveral Space Center in Florida or Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, Space Systems Command said. Most likely, it will be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. A rideshare launch poses different challenges than launching on a dedicated rocket, as was the case last year with the Victus Nox mission.

True Anomaly claims it can take its satellite out of storage and integrate it with the rocket in 12 to 84 hours, depending on the frequency of the launch service provider's flights. Following the launch of True Anomaly's Jackal, the Space Force will give Rocket Lab a 24-hour request to launch its satellite, similar in size to True Anomaly's spacecraft, on an Electron rocket from New Zealand or Virginia. Rocket Lab's launch must be precisely timed so that its satellite has time to approach the True Anomaly spacecraft in orbit.

“Victus Haze builds on Rocket Lab's proven track record of developing launch solutions and spacecraft that enable advanced missions at accelerated timelines,” said Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, in a statement. “The ability to design, build, launch and operate a spacecraft under one team is a rare occurrence and will provide unprecedented speed and value to the nation.”

Achieving such a reduction in satellite launch time was not easy. The military's Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) program had similar goals in the 2000s and 2010s, but it was aimed at augmenting or replacing capabilities rather than responding to threats in space, Getlein says.

Since then, commercial companies have developed their own modern capabilities. The Space Force has access to more advanced technology at a lower cost. “It was too expensive at the time,” Getlein said.

The bigger challenge now is changing the culture of the Space Force and its commercial partners. Things like regulatory approvals, safety paperwork, and airspace approvals need to happen more quickly.

“Tactical response in space is not about the hardware,” says Getlein. “It's not about the satellite, it's not about the sensor, it's not about the rocket. It's about the mindset. It's about the culture.”