Rocket fuel: The future is now
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Welcome to Rocket Fuel, a periodic column on what I'm hearing around town, interesting aerospace news that didn't make it in the newsletter, or topics on my radar planned for future coverage.
Whew. It's been a week, folks.
The big picture: Global Force took center stage in Huntsville Tuesday-Thursday, with companies taking the opportunity to make some big product announcements and show off some serious tech.
- Northrop Grumman gave media a look at its latest updates in Huntsville, astronauts swung by Marshall Space Flight Center Wednesday, and GEOHuntsville got the latest on Space Command from Lt. Gen. Zellmann.
🤖 At Global Force, the technology and hardware on the floor of the Von Braun Center left me feeling like the age of robots has arrived.
- Think autonomous turrets, autonomous vehicles (including a full-sized military truck constructed without a cab at all), futuristic temporary buildings, missiles and the full suite of drone and anti-drone tech.
🛰️ At Northrop, the Battle One multimedia experience they've put together to explain IBCS is straight out of a spy movie: an interactive screen that takes up the entire wall, showing how the system connects everything from F-35s to soldiers on the ground.
- It included a fascinating video play-by-play of a plausible scenario involving an enemy missile and drone attack, and how IBCS would facilitate the response.
🧑🚀 Listening to astronauts Wednesday, I was once again struck by Marshall's importance in not only America's activity in space, but the world's, especially in propulsion and ISS coordination.
🚀 In space, speed builds as long as there's thrust, and it seems the same is true for SPACECOM's move to Huntsville.
- Sen. Katie Britt told a crowd in Huntsville last month that half of SPACECOM personnel would be at Redstone by the end of 2028.
- Then a project management contract put that milestone at October 2028, and on Thursday, Zellmann put it at "by 2028."
📢 Got a tip or a reaction from the week? Hit reply and let me know!