The Critical Link

In the past decade, space has become a fiercely contested theatre. Two major trends are responsible for this paradigm shift. The first is technological advances by near-peer adversaries. The second is the introduction of Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) constellations, which enable connectivity with the ease and lack of latency of geostationary orbit networks. These two developments compel the DoD to look at space connectivity differently.

In response, the DoD issued its Commercial Space Integration Strategy and the Space Force soon after released its Commercial Space Strategy. Both strategies formalize policy goals that integrate commercial solutions into the national security space architecture. These strategies have been anticipated and are an encouraging step forward in embracing advanced commercial space technology.

Gen. Chance Salzman and Secretary Frank Cavelli described the intent of the new Space Force strategy this way: “We must tap into the spirit of American entrepreneurship, innovation and vibrant competitive markets to be successful and sustain our competitive advantage across the spectrum of conflict in this era of Great Power Competition.” 

No one can argue with that objective. Yet, the commercial space industry’s reaction to these new strategies can be described as cautiously optimistic. General Jay Raymond first coined the phrase that has become the central theme of Government talking points – “exploit what we have, buy what we can, build what we must” in space. The DoD strategy explicitly states, “there is risk in not integrating commercial solutions and failing to capitalize on the commercial sector’s technological innovation and speed.”

It’s prudent for industry to consider how much more must be done to affect actual change. The strategies acknowledge that a new strategy is just the start of change, stating “internal structural and cultural barriers related to a historic overreliance on exquisite government systems.”

For example, exactly how Space Force plans to incorporate commercial satcom technology is unclear. Some industry observers think the Space Force wants to buy commercial satellite buses and operate them directly, which seems emblematic of the old “own it” DoD mentality in space. Moving forward, it would be incredibly helpful if the Government could identify inherently government functions in space – what the Government needs to retain full ownership of vs. what commercial technology can deliver better, faster, and more economically.

Of course, there are functions the government will always retain in space. The DoD strategy highlights command and control (C2) and missile warning as two missions that will always remain with the government. Let’s take the logical next step and define what is not inherently a government function in space: those areas where the DoD can “exploit what we already have.”

This would help prevent repeating the recent past, when events forced the DoD to leverage commercial capacity in space on a large scale. The tragedy of 9/11 and unexpected conflicts meant this sudden reliance on commercial satcom happened in an ad-hoc fashion, and surprisingly remains so almost a generation later. There’s no question that commercial capacity is required for the national mission in space. What is required are enduring, systemic hybrid architectures with commercial providers, rather than short-term, ad-hoc augmentations.

Recent comments from Space Systems Command (SSC) are encouraging. The SSC commander, Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, was quoted in a recent industry article:

“Now, for the first time, at the service level, we have an understanding of the terms of reference of what we mean when we talk about inherently governmental, contracted, or commercial. We now have the support to ‘buy first’ and make it part of the architecture. It’s not just about “augmentation” of government systems with commercial add-ons, but actual integration. This is making commercial capabilities part of our Space Force hybrid architecture.”

New, advanced commercial LEO systems are ready for the DoD to leverage more fully in a Satcom-as-a-Service model. For example, Telesat Lightspeed is designed to protect customer data and provide assured communications in an environment of rapidly growing cybersecurity threats. U.S. Space Force military-grade cybersecurity requirements for commercial satcom, referred to as IA-Pre (Infrastructure Asset Pre-Approval), were integrated into the top-level Telesat Lightspeed system performance specification and incorporated into the system design from the earliest phases of development.

The commercial space industry has been and always will support military missions. But the realities in space are dramatically different today. To support military users in the most effective way possible and counter potential adversaries’ advances, commercial needs to be a true partner with the DoD in a hybrid space architecture. The new strategies are encouraging but must lead to a break with the status quo and a culture shift within the DoD and Space Force.