Full Breakdown
Space Force’s Victim Haze Demo Turns Satellite Chasing into a Tactical Exercise
7/14/2026, 11:36:28 AM
Demonstration Overview
The Space Force’s TacRS (Tactically Responsive Space) program has entered its second “Victus” demonstration, Victus Haze. Over the next six months, Rocket Lab’s Puma spacecraft and True Anomaly’s Jackal spacecraft will alternately act as chaser and target in a series of unscripted rendez-vous and proximity operations (RPO). The exercise is intended to showcase on-orbit tactics such as surveillance, potential refueling assistance, and, in a combat context, threat mitigation.
Background & Funding
Victus Haze follows the September 2023 Victus Nox demo, which featured a maneuverable vehicle built by Boeing’s Millennium Space Systems and launched by Firefly Aerospace. The FY 2027 budget places the TacRS “Combat Power” mission area at $86 million for FY 27 and a total of $300 million through FY 31, with FY 26 receiving $29.8 million in base funding and $135 million in reconciliation funding. The budget also earmarks development of Victus Surgo and Victus Salo—pre-positioned, maneuverable space-domain-awareness missions slated to begin testing late 2026, though launch dates remain unspecified.
Early Mission Results
Jackal launched on May 3 2026 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 after a prior delay, while Puma launched on June 19 2026. On July 1 True Anomaly announced it had successfully located and circumnavigated Puma, capturing multiple images. Rocket Lab reported on July 8 that it completed its RPO task—approaching, photographing, and “racking” the target—in under 59 hours, 25 hours ahead of the deadline. Both spacecraft carry sensor suites: Puma’s payload was developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and provided by Space Systems Command (SSC); Jackal uses its own sensors.
Official Statements & Responses
Space Force officials describe Victus Haze as a “training ground” where the service defines use cases and commercial partners execute them, rather than developing classified, bespoke capabilities. The program is managed by the Combat Power Program Acquisition Executive office, led by Col. Bryon McClain. Executives from Rocket Lab and True Anomaly emphasized the unscripted nature of the maneuvers and the shift from “kindergarten-level” past demos to realistic, adversarial scenarios.
Verbatim Quotes
- “And so, we change, we switch roles, but we don’t have a designated role, it just depends on the mission we’re doing.” — Even Rogers, Founder and CEO, True Anomaly
- “If you look at missions like this in the past, it’s frankly been a dead satellite or a self-deployed fly-along payload. Like everything is very much kindergarten. This is not,” — Brian Rogers, Vice President of Global Launch Services, Rocket Lab
- “They’re saying: ‘Hey, Rocket Lab, True Anomaly, go do this thing.’ And we go do it,” — Brian Rogers, Rocket Lab
- “The task was to acquire the Rocket Lab satellite with our on-board sensors, so we used some awkward cueing for that maneuver towards Rocket Lab, circumnavigate the Puma target, and take multiple images over the circumnavigation,” — Even Rogers, True Anomaly
- “racked, approached, and photographed the target satellite in under 59 hours (25 hours ahead of deadline).” — Rocket Lab (video statement)
