GPS 2F-9 launch
A United Launch Delta 4 rocket lofts the GPS-2F9 satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on March 25, 2015.

The U.S. Air Force has awarded its largest research contract yet – a $6.1 million deal for Boeing – as part of a broader effort to end reliance on a Russian rocket engine.

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Mike Gruss is the chief content and strategy officer at SpaceNews. From 2013 to 2016 he was a senior reporter at SpaceNews covering military space. Previously, he was editor in chief of Sightline Media Group and worked as a reporter and columnist for...