Join our newsletter to get the latest military space news every Tuesday by veteran defense journalist Sandra Erwin. WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force awarded space engineering and manufacturing firm Optimum Technologies (OpTech) a $4.5 million contract to develop an optical imaging payload for a mission scheduled to fly in 2026 on an Impulse Space vehicle. The mission known as Victus Surgo is part of the Space Force’s Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) program, an initiative aimed at leveraging commercial technologies to respond to potential threats in orbit. A core objective…