The United States Space Force launched its second live Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) mission on 19th June, placing a satellite into low-Earth orbit less than 17 hours after receiving launch orders. The mission, designated Victus Haze, lifted off from Rocket Lab’s private spaceport on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand.
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket carried the Puma satellite to orbit, just 16 hours and 42 minutes after the Space Force issued the launch order. This beat the USSF’s previous record of 27 hours, set during the first TacRS mission, Firefly’s Victus Nox, in 2023. The Puma spacecraft will now conduct a series of multi-phased rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) with a second satellite already on orbit, True Anomaly’s Jackal spacecraft, which launched in early May on a SpaceX Falcon 9.
On-Orbit Operations and Training
“With launch complete, the team will now complete on-orbit checkout and vehicle commissioning, after which RPO operations begin,” Space Systems Command (SSC) said in a statement on June 22. “During these operations, the teams operating both the Rocket Lab and the True Anomaly space vehicles will conduct a variety of scenarios, demonstrating space domain awareness and characterization capabilities, each in dynamic engagements with the other.”
Rocket Lab stated that it had activated and prepared its spacecraft for its first orbital maneuver in 37 hours and 36 minutes, well ahead of the Space Force’s 72-hour deadline. Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, who tracks on-orbit activity, reported that the Space Force’s own space object database showed the satellite’s arrival in orbit as early as 20th June, and that Puma appeared to pass within approximately 100 kilometres of the Jackal satellite on the evening of 19th June.
Contract Awards and Delays
SpaceWERX and the Defense Innovation Unit awarded contracts in 2024 to True Anomaly and Rocket Lab to develop spacecraft for the Victus Haze mission. Rocket Lab provided its own rocket to launch its space vehicle, while True Anomaly initially contracted with Firefly Aerospace to launch Jackal on its Alpha vehicle. The mission was originally scheduled for 2025 but was delayed after Firefly’s Alpha rocket experienced multiple anomalies last year. Although Alpha returned to flight in March, True Anomaly opted to launch Jackal on a SpaceX rideshare mission instead.
Published by James Hydzik
James Hydzik is a technology geek focused on the junction of engineering, writing, and coffee. He joined Orbital Today in 2020 to help make sense of the Johnson government’s decision to buy OneWeb. Since then, he has taken on interviewing and editor-in-chief roles. James learned the ropes of editing and writing with Financial Times magazines, The World Bank, PwC, and Ericsson. Thus far, interviewing New Space movers has put the biggest smile on his workaday face. The son of an Electrical Engineer, James understands the value of putting complex topics into clear language for those with a lay person’s understanding of the subject. James is a European transplant from the United States, and as ex-KA3LLL, he now holds European amateur radio licenses. His next radio project is a portable 10GHz EME (moonbounce) station, as it combines his childhood interests in antennas and space.