Space Industry Cheat Sheet: Vulcan Anomalies, Billion-Dollar Bets, and a Space Force That Needs to Double
Vulcan Gets to Orbit—With an Asterisk
United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket launched its fourth flight overall and second National Security Space Launch mission on February 12, carrying the USSF-87 payload to geosynchronous orbit. The mission delivered the seventh and eighth satellites in the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) constellation—Northrop Grumman-built spacecraft that monitor activity near U.S. and allied assets in GEO. The launch also included a propulsive ESPA ring hosting additional Space Force payloads.
Mission success? Yes. But not without some homework for the engineering team. ULA confirmed an “observation” on one of the four solid rocket boosters during the early flight phase. Gary Wentz, ULA’s VP of Atlas and Vulcan programs, acknowledged the issue, and the company is currently reviewing data. Both the booster and the Centaur upper stage operated nominally, completing all planned burns and delivering payloads to their intended orbits. Still, when you’re trying to establish Vulcan as the reliable workhorse for national security missions, even minor anomalies get the microscope treatment. SpaceNews
The Space Force Wants to Double in Size
Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force John Bentivegna told lawmakers on February 11 that the service’s current force of 10,000 uniformed Guardians isn’t enough. The Space Force has already blown past its recruiting goals for fiscal 2026, but meeting evolving mission requirements and confronting threats from China and Russia will require doubling that number.
Here’s what’s driving this: Cape Canaveral could support 500 launches annually by 2036—a fivefold increase over the next decade. The Eastern Range is about to become the busiest spaceport in human history, and the Space Force needs the personnel to manage that growth while simultaneously building out the operational capabilities required for contested space operations. The recruiting success is good news, but growing a service takes more than filling billets—it requires developing the experience base to lead it. That takes time. Air & Space Forces Magazine
Capital Keeps Flowing: Stoke and CesiumAstro Lead the Week
The funding announcements this week reinforced a simple truth: investors remain bullish on companies building hardware that matters.
Stoke Space extended its Series D round by $350 million, bringing the total raise to $860 million and lifetime funding to $1.34 billion. The Kent, Washington-based company is pushing toward the first launch of its Nova rocket from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral—the same historic pad where John Glenn launched in 1962. Nova is designed for full and rapid reusability across both stages, targeting the medium-lift market with aircraft-like operational frequency. CEO Andy Lapsa noted there’s “more in the pipeline” beyond Nova. The company isn’t chasing SpaceX in heavy lift; it’s betting that medium-lift reusability will carve out its own market. SpaceNews
CesiumAstro announced $470 million in growth capital—$270 million in Series C equity led by Trousdale Ventures, plus $200 million in debt financing from EXIM and JP Morgan under the “Make More in America” initiative. CEO Shey Sabripour called it a “scale moment” as the company moves from breakthrough technology to industrial backbone. CesiumAstro builds software-defined phased-array communications systems and is positioning for proliferated LEO constellations, including the Space Development Agency’s architecture. The company explicitly named Golden Dome as a target market. The new funding will support a 270,000 square-foot headquarters and manufacturing facility in Texas. SpaceNews
Meanwhile, across the Pacific, China’s iSpace raised a record $729 million in D++ funding to accelerate reusable rocket development. The company is working on its Hyperbola‑3 liquid-propellant rocket, with cryogenic static testing and launch-site fit checks recently completed at the Hainan commercial space launch center. The scale of investment in Chinese commercial launch continues to grow, backed by a combination of government industrial funds and private equity. SpaceNews
Golden Dome: From Vision to Budget Lines
For those tracking the Golden Dome of America initiative, the fiscal 2026 defense appropriations bill—passed February 3—included $13.4 billion for space and missile defense systems supporting the program. Combined with the $24.4 billion allocated through the 2025 reconciliation bill, real money is now flowing into what remains an ambitious and technically demanding undertaking.
The Pentagon is positioning Golden Dome as a proving ground for acquisition reform. Deputy program manager Marcia Holmes pitched the initiative to investors at a recent Space Foundation event, emphasizing faster acquisition timelines and greater risk tolerance. “We are going to be easier to work with,” Holmes said—words that would be more reassuring if we hadn’t heard similar promises before.
The Missile Defense Agency’s SHIELD IDIQ—the potential $151 billion, 10-year vehicle—continues to generate activity. This week, Security 2.0, Inc. announced it was awarded an IDIQ contract in support of Golden Dome, joining over 2,000 companies pre-approved to compete for task orders.
The systemic challenge remains clear: converting appropriated dollars into executable programs with defined architectures. Gen. Michael Guetlein has set an initial operational capability target for summer 2028, with 2026 focused on prototypes, industry engagement, and command-and-control foundations. Congressional oversight provisions requiring regular reporting on architecture, cost, and testing suggest lawmakers want visibility as spending ramps up. SpaceNews
On-Orbit Servicing Gets Its Year
Four satellite servicing demonstration missions are scheduled for 2026, all targeting geosynchronous orbit and all emphasizing commercial business models alongside government requirements. The Space Force considers dynamic space operations—the ability to maneuver satellites as needed—critical to warfighting in a contested domain. Without on-orbit refueling and servicing, every maneuver shortens a satellite’s life. These demonstrations aim to prove both the technology and the economics.
As Rob Hauge of SpaceLogistics (Northrop Grumman) put it: “Every year about 10 to 20 [GEO satellites] reach their end of life because they run out of fuel.” That’s a market opportunity measured in billions, and the national security implications are significant. Air & Space Forces Magazine
Quick Hits
- The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee is marking up the NASA Reauthorization Act of 2026 (HR 7273), introduced January 30 by Rep. Brian Babin (R‑TX). Priorities include Artemis, SLS, crew access to LEO, and orbital debris R&D. Whether it actually becomes law remains the question—Congress hasn’t passed a standalone NASA authorization since 2022.
- The Defense Innovation Unit plans to demonstrate low-cost, commercially derived missile-defense sensors in orbit within two years, signaling continued momentum toward a more proliferated, resilient space architecture.
- Muon Space announced a shift toward a constellation-focused business, with 20 satellites manifested over the next 20 months. The company is betting that vertical integration and end-to-end solutions will differentiate it in a crowded market.
The Bottom Line
This week’s headlines reveal an industry entering a new phase. Capital is flowing to companies that can build hardware at scale. The Space Force is growing to match the operational demands of a contested domain. And Golden Dome is moving from PowerPoint to program execution—with all the acquisition challenges that entail.
The question isn’t whether space is strategic. That debate is settled. The question is whether we can move fast enough to stay ahead of adversaries who are investing heavily and learning quickly. The funding rounds and force structure announcements are encouraging. The real test comes when hardware meets orbit—and when acquisition timelines meet operational need.
Pax ab Space
Clinton Austin is a Senior Business Development Director for GDIT who covers the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Space Force, and the Missile Defense Agency.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of General Dynamics Information Technology.
February 15, 2026
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