Walter Lauderdale of the U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) said the center has decided to allow SpaceX to recover a Falcon 9 booster after months of examinations and reviews of the rocket’s mission data, SpaceNews reported Sunday.

SpaceX is set to launch a GPS satellite aboard its Falcon 9 rocket on Tuesday, June 30, from Cape Canaveral in Florida and perform its first attempt to carry out booster recovery during this second GPS launch mission.

Lauderdale, chief of the Falcon’s systems operations operation division at SMC’s launch enterprise, told reporters Friday during a call that vehicle modifications and extensive assessments “reduced uncertainty in many areas.”

“SpaceX used the experience of our first launch campaign together to improve their processes,” he said. “This led to a 40 percent reduction in the number of questions we presented to them.”

SpaceX will use a new booster for Tuesday’s launch and is under contract to perform three more GPS launch missions in the next few years.

The U.S. Space Force (USSF) is creating an effort to bolster the cybersecurity of the Department of Defense's (DoD) commercial satellite communications (COMSATCOM) systems. The Infrastructure Asset Pre-Assessment (IA-PRE) program aligns with USSF's mission to have the U.S. military supported by the most secure commercial satcom systems, the Space Force said Wednesday.

“Cybersecurity is critical to the DoD and its missions,” said Jared Reece, COMSATCOM IA policy and compliance lead at USSF's Commercial Satellite Communications Office. 

The program will create a list of approved COMSATCOM products that meet DoD-imposed requirements. CSCO asks satellite companies to submit input on how government and industry can work together towards mutual goals under the program.

Interested parties may send responses through July 2.

NASA plans to address the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) program's delay costs through existing funds, Space News reported Thursday. The agency has witnessed delays in the space telescope's developmental schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks to address issues without additional funds.

Eric Smith, JWST program scientist, said his team still has both fiscal and schedule reserves, and does not anticipate the need for more funds.

“We can go a few months, several months past the March date and still have reserves to cover that,” Smith said at a meeting with NASA's astrophysics advisory committee.

The delay makes NASA unable to pursue the original launch date of March 2021, and the space agency still has yet to name a new date. JWST is designed to provide visuals of deep space and help scientists study the birth of older galaxies in the universe.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending the U.S. Air Force to establish metrics to properly assess its efforts to hire and retain personnel that handle the operations of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA).

GAO said in a report released Thursday that the Air Force is yet to achieve its 2024 staffing goals for sensor operators and pilots, as well as its implementation of a combat-to-dwell policy to ensure that RPA units’ time is spent equally on combat and noncombat activities.

The watchdog also said that the Air Force doesn’t have enough historical data to predict retention trends for RPA personnel despite providing financial incentives. 

“Without updated information to inform the number of required instructors, the Air Force does not know the correct number of instructor positions necessary to train RPA aircrews to be ready to complete their mission,” the report states.

“Without a metric (or set of metrics), it is unclear whether any adjustments are needed to meet its implementation timeframes.”

The service branch has recorded fewer RPA staff than authorized since fiscal 2016, according to the report.