The US Space Force, a distinct branch of the US military tasked with safeguarding US interests in space, has abandoned a multibillion-dollar initiative to develop a classified military communications satellite.

The cancellation of the Northrop Grumman program was attributed to rising costs, challenges in developing its payload, and a schedule delay, as reported by Bloomberg, referencing a regulatory filing and sources familiar with the decision.

Last month, Northrop’s CFO, David Keffer, seemed to allude to the cancellation of the project during an earnings call, noting a decline in space unit sales linked to shifts in government priorities affecting a restricted program.

The news of the classified program’s termination comes after the chairman of the House intelligence committee, Mike Turner, urged the Biden administration to declassify information concerning what he termed a “serious national security threat.”

Subsequent reports indicated that the threat involved Russian intentions to deploy nuclear weapons in space, The Guardian reported.

ABC News and the New York Times, citing anonymous sources, suggested that the security threat Turner mentioned centered on Russia’s potential deployment of a nuclear anti-satellite weapon in space.

It was also reported that US allies had been briefed on the intelligence, and the alleged Russian capability was still in the developmental stage, posing no immediate threat.

Written by B.C. Begley