Lockheed Martin says that the Defense Satellite Communications System III constellation has “surpassed 175 years of on-orbit service.” The DSCS constellation comprises nine satellites in geostationary orbit that provide worldwide military secure voice and high-data-rate communications. The company has built 14 DSCS spacecraft, the last of which launched in August 2003.
The White House announced its United States Space Priorities Framework in a document released concurrently with Vice President Kamala Harris' first National Space Council meeting. Listed among five U.S. priorities is to “defend its national security interests from the growing scope and scale of space and counterspace threats.”