T+318: General Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force

Yesterday, I had the chance to visit the Pentagon and sit down with General Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations—the head of the United States Space Force. We talk about the service 6 years into its existence, the state of acquisitions, the threats and space environment today, and what the future may hold for the Space Force when it comes to human spaceflight.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Russell, Natasha Tsakos, Will and Lars from Agile, Theo and Violet, David, Matt, Better Every Day Studios, Warren, The Astrogators at SEE, Josh from Impulse, Stealth Julian, Joakim, Frank, Pat, Joel, Donald, Ryan, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Joonas, Jan, Steve, Fred, Lee, Kris, Heiko, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• United States Space Force
• B. Chance Saltzman > United States Space Force > Display
• Space Force roadmap set to define what the service needs and why - SpaceNews
• US intel officials “concerned” China will soon master reusable launch - Ars Technica
• Asked why we need Golden Dome, the man in charge points to a Hollywood film - Ars Technica
• Space Force rolls out new naming scheme for satellites and space weapons - SpaceNews
• Andrew Jones on X: “Outrageous images of China's Shijian-26, an apparent new-gen Earth observation satellite, from Maxar. SSD of 1.9 cm.”
• Andrew Jones on X: “China's CGST has returned the favour, using its Jilin-1 sats to image a Maxar Worldview Legion 2 satellite.”
• Scott Tilley 🇺🇦 🇨🇦 (@coastal8049) / X

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!
• Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to [email protected]
• Follow @WeHaveMECO
• Follow @[email protected] on Mastodon
• Listen to MECO Headlines
• Listen to Off-Nominal
• Join the Off-Nominal Discord
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere
• Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter
• Artwork photo by Blue Origin
• Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works