U.S. Air Force Basic Military Training trainees carry M4 rifles at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, on Aug. 2, 2024. The reintroduced weapons program emphasizes constant weapon handling throughout basic training.

Air Force basic trainees required to carry rifle for first time in years

Since the end of July, airmen and guardian trainees have been carrying inert M4 rifles — marked with distinctive red flash suppressors — as part of their daily regimen, a practice that stopped in 2012.

Brig. Gen. Jacob Middleton speaks to guardians and guests after taking command Aug. 13, 2024, of U.S. Space Forces in Europe-Space Forces Africa at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Middleton is the second commander at the helm since the new unit was activated at Ramstein in December 2023.

‘A new orbit’: Brigadier general takes over Space Force in Europe and Africa

Brig. Gen. Jacob Middleton took over as the commander of U.S. Space Forces in Europe-Space Forces Africa during a ceremony Tuesday at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

Contractors use a ground-penetrating radar to identify and map utility pipes and wires at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex in Hawaii, Feb. 21, 2023.

Space Force officials pitch plan to clean fuel-soaked soil on sacred Maui mountaintop

The Department of the Air Force wants to cleanse fuel-soaked ground on Maui’s tallest peak, considered sacred in Native Hawaiian culture, by venting soil still in place and airing out contaminated soil previously excavated.

A Falcon 9 rocket launches a Starlink mission from Florida on Feb. 27, 2023. SpaceX shot up three Falcon 9 rockets from Kennedy Space Center in late July, 2024, knocking out the company’s 50th Space Coast launch of the year.

SpaceX knocks out company’s 50th Space Coast launch of the year

SpaceX shot up three Falcon 9 rockets from three launch pads last weekend once the Federal Aviation Administration gave its grounded rocket the OK to return to flight. Now it’s set to go another round.

The welcome sign at Fort Carson, Colo., in an undated file image. One person had minor injuries after being shot Tuesday with a pellet gun, according to a base statement.

Military ban on Colorado Springs shopping mall adjusted; 2 exceptions for visits allowed

The recent ban prohibiting Colorado Springs uniformed military members from going to The Citadel mall was changed Wednesday to allow visits related to education or religion.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance safely splashes down to conclude the Crew-7 mission and bring four astronauts back to Earth on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (NASA/TNS)

After debris concerns, SpaceX to shift Dragon capsule landings from Florida to California

Because of debris from return trips of its Dragon spacecraft, SpaceX will shift future landing operations to California. “After five years of splashing down off the coast of Florida, we’ve decided to ship Dragon recovery operations back to the West coast,” a SpaceX official has says.

Tugboats bring in the Pegasus, which is carrying the Core Stage for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, at the Kennedy Space Center Turn Basin on Tuesday, July 23, 2024. The Core Stage is for the Artemis II launch scheduled for next year. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/TNS)

‘The clock’s already started’: NASA counting down to most powerful human spaceflight ever

The launch clock isn’t set yet, but the hardware is lined up for what would become the most powerful rocket to ever send humans into space during a moonbound trip the likes of which has not happened in more than 50 years.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket sits on the launchpad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on July 27, 2024.

ULA set for 4th launch of the year with Atlas V flight for Space Force

An Atlas V rocket on the USSF-51 mission is set to lift off at 6:45 a.m. at the opening of a three-hour window from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41.

Junior enlisted troops to get $120 bonus to combat economic hardships

Junior enlisted troops will get $20 added to their paychecks for the next six months through a congressionally authorized pot of money intended to help fight the rising cost of living for the lowest paid in the military. Critics argue that the raise isn’t enough.

Move teams with NASA and Boeing position the massive rocket stage on special transporters to guide it onto the Pegasus barge on July 16, 2024, at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans ahead of its trip to Florida. (NASA/TNS)

NASA’s Artemis II moon mission rocket core stage on way to Kennedy Space Center

The biggest piece of the puzzle to send humans on a trip around the moon for the first time in more than half a century is on its way to Kennedy Space Center.