A fighter pilot can learn a lot in a simulator. But there’s a reason air forces still put people in real aircraft before they trust them in combat.
Space is finally getting the same memo.
In late February, U.S. Space Force leaders disclosed that Mission Delta 9—the service’s orbital warfare unit—now has a live satellite it can fly for training, practicing “precise, advanced” maneuvers that senior officials described as both defensive and offensive in character.
The satellite was carried to orbit on USSF-87, a Feb. 12, 2026 national security launch on ULA’s Vulcan that also delivered payloads for the Space Force’s Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP)—the “neighborhood watch” satellites used to keep tabs on activity near geosynchronous orbit.
