From the dawn of the space age, space objects have traveled along predictable, gravity-driven paths first defined by the German Renaissance astronomer and mathematician, Johannes Kepler.
For decades, those predictable orbits served our nation well; space was essentially a sanctuary. But in our now-congested, contested, and competitive Space Area of Operations (AOR), Keplerian orbits will no longer cut it.
At public appearances, including at the 2023 Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo., then Deputy Commander of U.S. Space Command (now retired) U.S. Space Force Lt. Gen. John Shaw, said maneuverability - regardless of domain - enables military forces to move quickly, sidestep defenses and achieve surprise. Space, he said, should be viewed no differently than any other operational domain.
Dynamic Space Operations, or DSO, at its heart is about being able to maneuver once on orbit, said Tom Wehr, director of business development for launch and space exploration at Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company. Maneuverability complicates an adversary's planning and targeting.
For example, because ground-surveillance satellites follow predictable orbital paths, adversaries typically know when one will be overhead and can modify their behavior accordingly, Wehr said. Similarly, space surveillance operations would benefit from the ability for satellites to maneuver to take a closer look at objects of interest. And if conflict breaks out in the space AOR, maneuverable satellites can complicate an adversary's ability to target and deny our space superiority.
All of that requires more propulsion capability than what you've typically seen in the past, Wehr said.
Aerojet Rocketdyne, a longtime global leader in rocket and in-space propulsion, offers several DSO-enabling capabilities, with more in development. These propulsion capabilities provide the speed and efficiency to maneuver without regret. Some examples include:
Electric satellite thrusters with 10 times the efficiency of conventional chemical propulsion systems.
A long-life version of the company's high-thrust RL10 upper stage rocket engine, capable of multiple of in-space restarts, an industry workhorse that has sent probes across the Solar System and beyond.
High-performance propellants that are more efficient and environmentally friendly than hydrazine and other chemical fuels typically used for in-space propulsion.
Air-breathing electric propulsion systems for satellites operating in very low Earth orbit, or VLEO. Because they draw their propellant from the residual atmosphere in VLEO, these systems have virtually unconstrained maneuverability.
Long-life mono-propellant thrusters for refuelable space vehicles.
High Delta-V Integrated ESPA (EELV Secondary Payload Adapter) Propulsion Systems to provide significant maneuverability capability to smaller space vehicles.
Long-life, high-performance bipropellant liquid rocket engines for higher-impulse DSO maneuver requirements.
On-orbit refueling and propellant management systems for monopropellants and cryogenic propellants.
Aerojet Rocketdyne provides highly reliable and long-life propulsion solutions for any mission, Wehr said, emphasizing that when it comes to DSO, there is no one-size-fits-all system.
Electric propulsion is one example; it is ideal for mass-constrained satellites that do not require high-speed or long-distance maneuverability. These systems enable planners to devote only a small amount of total available satellite mass to propellant, he said.
Aerojet Rocketdyne's electric thrusters have long been operational aboard commercial and government satellites, and the company is developing higher power systems to support NASA's exploration goals. Electric thrusters provide low-thrust, high-specific-impulse propulsion for missions needing more efficiency than speed.
Additionally, Aerojet Rocketdyne is working on a longer-life RL10 upper stage engine that could relocate payloads days or even weeks after launch, making them difficult to track, Wehr said. In one scenario, a primary satellite might initially be launched to geostationary-orbit (GEO), and the upper stage then maneuvers a secondary payload into a disposal orbit - an area of space above the GEO arc that serves as a graveyard of sorts for spent hardware. The upper stage could then restart on demand and deliver the secondary payload to the orbit required to perform its mission.
The long-life RL10 complicates an adversary's thinking because they now have to track everything in the disposal orbits because they might do something later on, he said.
Restarting an RL10 that has been inactive for extended periods in the extreme cold of space is a nontrivial challenge, Wehr said.
Another DSO capability of interest to the Space Force is on-orbit satellite refueling, and this is another area where Aerojet Rocketdyne's products shine. Aerojet Rocketdyne's chemical and electric propulsion systems have an unrivaled operational track record that gives mission planners confidence in their durability and ability to safely conduct proximity operations.
Refueling doesn't do any good if your thrusters are going to burn out, Wehr said. You've got to have a thruster that you can keep using and that's where we have an advantage.
That translates into a Space Force advantage as it deals with increasingly capable adversaries in a contested space environment. DSO is about upending the predictability that has traditionally defined orbital operations through propulsive maneuverability, something that plays to the strengths of Aerojet Rocketdyne.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
23/07/2026
Download Now!
To receive a short case study showcasing Vivid Broadcast's audio setup, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* First Name ...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
Witbe brings its AI-native testing and monitoring infrastructure to Amsterdam: demonstrations on real devices, a peer-reviewed technical paper in the conference...
23/07/2026
Quickplay, Caretta Research, Evergent, and Yospace have announced that the renowned IBC Pride Happy Hour will once again bring the vibe and fun back to IBC on F...
23/07/2026
At IBC2026, Interra Systems will present this year's focus: operational AI at scale for QC, monitoring, and captioning workflows. The industry has moved pas...
23/07/2026
Illusionfx is finally coming!
Alex Perea July 23, 2026
0 Comments
The new website is now live to mark the occasion.
Since the last update, feedback h...
23/07/2026
Evergent (5.A86) will showcase its Agentic Revenue Orchestration Platform for streaming services, sports leagues, pay-TV operators at IBC2026 (RAI Amsterdam, 11...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
David Dvir, 2D founder (left), Sundeep Reddy (center), and Jean-Marc Bouchut (right), both of Zeiss...
23/07/2026
Screen Australia announces new national documentary accelerator program 23 July 2026
Screen Australia has today announced the Above the Line Documentary Accel...
23/07/2026
RT Commercial has today announced Centra as the official food partner once again of The Traitors Ireland, coming to RT One and RT Player later this year.
Ce...
23/07/2026
RT Commercial today announced Honda as sponsor of Today with David McCullagh RT Radio 1, weekdays 9am 11am.
Broadcasting directly after Morning Ireland in ...
23/07/2026
RT News is pleased to announce Barry Gallagher has been assigned as the new journalist covering news from Cork, Kerry and the wider Southern region
Working al...
23/07/2026
Lock in and load up the cloud. GFN Thursday brings fresh updates and new adventu...
22/07/2026
Among other tweaks to coverage, the broadcaster added announce positions in the ...
22/07/2026
The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has reported a sharp acceleration in Australia's sportstech sector, with revenue growth rising from 10% in...
22/07/2026
From a retrofitted broadcast bus to packed Match Day Live! events, Bennett detai...
22/07/2026
TMRW Sports has named Brendan Donohue as President, Flag Football, where he will lead the company's professional flag football business in partnership with ...
22/07/2026
Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) designed and produced soundtracks for nine projection...
22/07/2026
Harmonic has announced a $25,000 donation to Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) fo...
22/07/2026
Telemundo has announced it has acquired from UC3 exclusive U.S. Spanish-language...
22/07/2026
The Rest Is Football, hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards, ...
22/07/2026
Sports Studio has announced a partnership with TheSoul Group to distribute Free ...
22/07/2026
Daktronics has concluded its 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day hybrid event combining virtual sessions with hands-on host school visits across the countr...
22/07/2026
FOR-A America will exhibit at the MMCA Show in Pensacola, Florida (July 21-24), marking the company's first appearance at the house of worship AV event. FOR...
22/07/2026
The New York Yankees have selected Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) to connect Ya...
22/07/2026
Calrec will exhibit at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.C47) with demonstrations of its IP-native audio ecosystem built around the Argo console range, and will announce two ne...
22/07/2026
Solid State Logic has announced the appointment of Algam EKO as its distributor for SSL large format consoles in Italy, covering the Live, Broadcast, and Studio...
22/07/2026
FloSports has announced the launch of the FloSports Channel, a free ad-supported streaming channel premiering on Prime Video in the U.S. on July 21. The channel...
22/07/2026
Banana Ball TV (BTV), the broadcast operation of the Savannah Bananas, has insta...
22/07/2026
SiriusXM and Audacy have announced an agreement bringing 42 Audacy sports, news, and talk stations from 29 U.S. markets to SiriusXM. Twenty-three Audacy sports ...
22/07/2026
The collaboration produced more than 500 short-form videos across four cities th...
22/07/2026
At 2,600 sq. ft., the new home of digital content houses a main studio, podcast space, and an auxiliary control room
NFL franchises are accelerating their prod...
22/07/2026
Library now available in Engine Player
Another of Eduardo Tarilonte's popular sample libraries has just been moved over to Engine Audio's Engine Pla...
22/07/2026
All-in-one mic & DSP interface overhauled
Cloudvocal have just refreshed the design of their all-in-one mic, audio interface and DSP processor, introducing ...
22/07/2026
The final boss of the lost dual-op-amp circuit
Electro-Harmonix have just introduced the Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2, which they say offers their latest take on t...
22/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Proven managed IP solution helps broadcasters confidently navigate the future of broadcast distribution
LTN announces it has completed successful satellite-to-...
22/07/2026
Today, Chaos announced V-Ray 7, update 4, eliminating the need for asset conversions and tool switching, which slow down media and entertainment pipelines. Arti...
From the dawn of the space age, space objects have traveled along predictable, gravity-driven paths first defined by the German Renaissance astronomer and mathematician, Johannes Kepler.
