On September 13, 1985, Air Force Major Wilbert “Doug” Pearson climbed into the cockpit of an F-15A Eagle at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

His mission was unlike anything the military had attempted before…

His target wasn’t another aircraft. It wasn’t a missile or an enemy installation.

It was a satellite orbiting hundreds of miles above Earth.

Pearson accelerated his fighter jet, pulled into a steep climb, and released a 2,600-pound missile. 

The weapon streaked toward space, where its miniature homing vehicle slammed into the Solwind P78-1 satellite at approximately 15,000 miles per hour.

The satellite was American, not Soviet. 

But the test was designed to demonstrate that the United States could destroy an orbiting spacecraft in response to the Soviet Union’s growing anti-satellite capabilities.

It also demonstrated something considerably more interesting…

An ordinary fighter jet could serve as the launch platform for a vehicle capable of reaching space. 

Forty-one years later, that demonstration is taking on renewed significance…

And one little-known American aerospace company could help turn it into an entirely new military capability.

The Space Race That Never Quite Took Off

The F-15’s successful intercept was supposed to be the beginning of something much bigger.

Instead, political opposition and budget constraints eventually killed the program.

The technology, however, didn’t disappear…

In 1990, Orbital Sciences launched its Pegasus rocket from a B-52 bomber, successfully placing a satellite into orbit using an airborne launch system.

Pegasus eventually completed 45 launches, delivering more than 90 satellites into orbit.

And other programs followed…

DARPA launched its Airborne Launch Assist Space Access program, or ALASA, in 2011. 

The goal was to launch small satellites within 24 hours for less than $1 million per mission.

But problems with its experimental rocket propellant led to the program’s cancellation in 2015.

Virgin Orbit subsequently developed LauncherOne, successfully placing satellites into orbit using a modified Boeing 747.

Unfortunately, technical failures and financial difficulties eventually drove the company into bankruptcy.

Pegasus survived, but its limited launch activity and aging aircraft left America without a robust airborne-launch industry. 

But now, the military is taking another look. And this time, the stakes are much higher.

Why America Needs Fighter Jets That Launch Satellites

In August 2026, Air University Press published a research paper titled Reigniting a National Airborne Space Launch Capability.

Written by Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Ali Hamidani, the paper argues that America needs to revive airborne launch to protect its increasingly vulnerable satellite infrastructure.

And the reasoning is straightforward…

Modern warfare depends on satellites for communications, navigation, surveillance, missile detection, and countless other capabilities.

But Russia and China have spent decades developing weapons capable of disabling or destroying those satellites.

In 2007, China destroyed one of its own weather satellites using a ground-launched missile.

Russia conducted a similar test in 2021, creating more than 1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris.

Both countries have also demonstrated technologies capable of maneuvering near other spacecraft. 

And I’m sure you can imagine what happens if a future conflict begins with the destruction of several critical American satellites…

The military would suddenly lose access to essential communications, intelligence, and navigation capabilities.

And replacing those satellites could become a matter of national security.

But conventional satellite launches depend on a relatively small number of fixed installations.

Those facilities are expensive, geographically constrained, and potentially vulnerable to attack.

However, an aircraft-based system offers another option…

Instead of waiting for an available launchpad, the military could deploy an aircraft to a suitable operating location, carry a rocket high into the atmosphere, and release it toward orbit.

That flexibility could allow replacement satellites to reach space more quickly while making the launch infrastructure itself harder to target.

Lt. Col. Hamidani argues that America should develop this capability before a conflict makes it urgently necessary.

He proposes using the Air Force Test Pilot School and Space Test Fundamentals program at Edwards Air Force Base to develop the technology through incremental flight-testing projects. 

But here’s where the story gets especially interesting for investors…

A small American company is already working on precisely this kind of technology.

Starfighters Space Is Already Building the Solution

Starfighters Space (NYSE American: FJET) isn’t your typical aerospace startup…

Rather than spending billions developing an entirely new aircraft, the company operates a fleet of seven F-104 Starfighters.

These legendary Cold War fighter jets can exceed Mach 2 and carry payloads to approximately 45,000 feet.

Operating from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Starfighters uses its aircraft for aerospace research, flight testing, and the development of airborne launch capabilities.

Its STARLAUNCH program is designed to eventually use the F-104 as a reusable launch platform for small satellites.

And the company has already made progress toward that goal…

In January, Starfighters completed wind tunnel testing that demonstrated clean separation of its STARLAUNCH 1 vehicle from an aircraft platform at both subsonic and supersonic speeds.

The company subsequently advanced the vehicle’s critical design review with support from GE Aerospace.

It has also established relationships with aerospace companies developing propulsion systems, hypersonic technologies, and launch infrastructure.

These include partnerships with Blackstar Orbital, Integrated Launch Solutions, and Vaya Defense & Space. 

Now, Starfighters hasn’t yet demonstrated an orbital launch… 

Its initial STARLAUNCH vehicle is being developed for suborbital missions, with orbital launch representing a subsequent objective.

But the company already possesses something many aspiring launch providers lack:

Operational supersonic aircraft, experienced flight crews, existing infrastructure, and an established aerospace testing business.

That combination could make Starfighters a valuable partner as the military works to develop the airborne-launch capability Lt. Col. Hamidani describes.

And there’s an interesting historical connection…

The Lt. Col.’s paper specifically notes that the Air Force Test Pilot School once operated rocket-equipped F-104 Starfighters capable of climbing above 100,000 feet.

The same aircraft family Starfighters Space is using today. 

The Military Opportunity Wall Street Could Be Missing

Perhaps the most important observation in the paper concerns the economics of airborne launch…

Previous programs demonstrated that the technology works.

But what they couldn’t consistently demonstrate was that the commercial market could sustain it.

Traditional rockets have become increasingly affordable, making it difficult for specialized airborne systems to compete on price alone.

But national security requirements are different…

When the military needs to replace a critical satellite immediately, the cheapest launch isn’t necessarily the most useful.

And Lt. Col. Hamidani argues that the government should financially support airborne launch as a strategic capability rather than depending entirely on commercial demand. 

That could be a pretty big deal for Starfighters…

A sustained military commitment to airborne launch could create opportunities for aircraft operators, propulsion developers, testing companies, and eventually orbital launch providers.

And Starfighters’ existing aircraft and flight-testing experience could position it to participate in that development.

Of course, the company hasn’t been selected for the program proposed in the paper, and future military contracts aren’t guaranteed. 

But the opportunity is becoming increasingly clear…

Forty-one years ago, an American fighter jet demonstrated that an aircraft could launch a weapon into space.

Today, the military is examining how that same basic concept could help protect America’s satellite infrastructure.

And Starfighters Space is already developing the technology that could help make it happen.