Overview
- Gen. Chance Saltzman unveiled the service-wide naming framework Dec. 11 at the Spacepower Conference in Orlando after a yearlong, Guardian-driven effort.
- Seven themes align to mission areas: Norse pantheon for orbital warfare, mythological creatures for cyber, constellations for satcom, ghosts for space domain awareness, snakes for electromagnetic warfare, sentinels for missile warning, and sharks for navigation warfare.
- The scheme applies to both new and legacy platforms as the inventory is updated, with more names to be announced over time without a set completion timeline.
- Two systems received names: the UHF Follow-On geostationary communications constellation is Ursa Major, and the ORS-5 low-Earth-orbit space domain awareness satellite is Bifrost.
- Each platform will also carry a standardized alphanumeric identifier using a two-letter mission prefix followed by a number to ensure consistent classification.