THE NEW SPACE RACE: Space Force envisions rolling awards for new RG-XX neighborhood watch satellites.

RG-XX is being designed as the successor to the Space Force’s Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) constellation originally comprised of six satellites in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) some 36,000 kilometers in altitude.

The flexibility of the new acquisitional approach is necessary because, for one, McClain said it’s unclear how many RG-XX satellites the Space Force will need.

“The quantity will be based off of a couple of factors,” he said, “the cost of the individual systems that we get, [but also] available funds and the mission need.”

And while RG-XX sats are expected to be more manueverable than GSSAP birds and will be the first Space Force satellites capable of refueling in orbit, McClain said it is not completely clear whether the RG-XX satellites alone will be all that is needed to replace the venerable GSSAP birds, the first of which launched in 2014.

I’m sure they’ll be impressive, but I’m less sure about the “neighborhood watch” branding that sounds less like “Keeping an eye on Chinese shipyards” and more like “HOA busybody.”