The head of U.S. Air Force Space Command, Gen. John Hyten, said he supports a proposal to let decommissioned Peacekeeper ICBMs be recycled as launch vehicles for commercial satellites.
By USAF [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Speaking at a press conference at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Hyten said this will allow the government to recoup some of its investment in missiles but he warned that such an initiative must tread carefully as this could destroy the small launch business of private companies.
Orbital ATK has been pressing lawmakers to allow its Minotaur IV to move away from launching just DoD payloads only.