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Tiny satellites, including relays, orbital cameras and other sensors, aren’t the only “faster-better-cheaper” tech transforming the American space force. So-called “pseudolites” — that is, relatively inexpensive robots, planes and airships operating in the very-high-but-not-quite-orbit upper atmosphere — are rapidly proliferating and taking the place of some old-school satellites. The “smaller-is-better” space revolution wasn’t inevitable. It resulted from a complex interplay of politics and economics, plus a chain of engineering crises that claimed some careers and even a few lives. What follows is a brief recent history of America’s space force from the end of the Cold War to today, with a glimpse into the future as old spacecraft waste away and smaller, quicker, cheaper and more robotic systems take their place.