This EO couldn’t have arrived at a timelier moment in the U.S., as near-peer competitors are currently making major investments in AI space capabilities that pose a growing threat to the nation’s dominance and advantage in the space domain. The U.S. government and military are highly aware of adversaries’ investments in space-based AI military capabilities and are turning to the U.S. Space Force to answer the call to defend American assets in space by building its own AI capability set.

The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies recently hosted Dr. Lisa Costa, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer (CTIO) of the U.S. Space Force, at a Schriever Spacepower Forum to examine the AI advancements adversarial nations have made in the space domain and to outline how the Space Force will maintain a technological advantage over U.S. near-peer competitors.

As CTIO of the Space Force, Dr. Costa oversees the development of strategy and policy to advance science, technology, and research of cutting-edge technologies that will digitally transform the Space Force. She is also responsible for leading teams working on the advancement of AI in the space domain, as well as determining the AI capabilities adversarial nations like China are currently fielding and deploying in the domain.

China and AI
Dr. Costa opened the forum by discussing China’s approach to leveraging AI and machine learning (ML) in space. She explained that in 2023, China is projected to spend $14.7 billion on AI and that by 2026 that figure will increase to $26 billion.

“That’s an extremely large investment,” said Dr. Costa. “Not only are they applying that to AI research, they’re applying it to the operationalization of AI.” She explained that according to a recent Pentagon report to Congress, China is focused on AI domination in order to probe enemy vulnerabilities and advance the concept of intelligentized warfare. From applications to robotics, China is seeking to develop an autonomous, orbital platform in space that can make determinations on who is and isn’t an adversary through AI technologies. Through these investments in AI, China is effectively constructing an enhanced counter-space capability set.

“The People’s Republic of China (PRC) argue that the increasing frequency, complexity, and risks of space missions raise the need for incorporating AI and autonomy to support and protect China’s space assets,” she explained. And according to Dr. Costa, China is already testing and fielding these space-based capabilities.

In April of this year, China held an experiment where they allowed an autonomous AI to control and operate a camera on an optical satellite for 24 hours. The test results revealed that the AI focused on two main areas: a region in Japan that houses U.S. aircraft carriers, as well as a contentious zone between India and China that is known to have “skirmishes.” According to Dr. Costa, these demonstrations and tests, make it clear that China has and will continue to pursue new, space-based capabilities that can threaten the U.S.’ advantage in the domain.

So, what is the Space Force’s answer to this growing threat?

Space Force’s response
To keep up with the pace of China’s growing AI capability set, the U.S. Space Force is focusing on the digital transformation and modernization of its existing space assets. “A lot of people think that because we are a new service, we got all new equipment,” said Dr. Costa. “Well, that’s not quite true.” Dr. Costa explained that the U.S. Space Force has several satellite constellations that are currently operating on older networks.

“Working to modernize those capabilities is absolutely critical,” said Dr. Costa. “It’s very difficult to build incredibly advanced AI modeling, simulation, and digital twins on top of old infrastructure.” According to Dr. Costa, her office’s first priority is to fix the “tech debt” of its system and network foundations in order to accommodate the amount of data throughput and processing that is required to have a space-based advantage.

Another priority that Dr. Costa’s office is focusing on is upskilling current Space Force guardians to be “super coders.” Equipping guardians with the knowledge and skills to augment capabilities and systems through coding is a major advantage for the U.S., according to Dr. Costa. “That combination of modernization of the foundation, with the real-time changes to capabilities by super coders, is a huge game changer,” said Dr. Costa.

AI and data
One space-based challenge that both the U.S. and China share – as it pertains to space – is the quantity and quality of data that they must analyze. “It’s a common problem that cuts across all of these areas, not only for China, but for us as well,” said Dr. Costa.

But in Dr. Costa’s opinion, the data issue is one that is going to be fixed soon. “I fundamentally believe this is going to be a very solved problem very quickly,” she said. “Why do I believe that? Machine learning and natural language processing are at a point now that computer-based tagging of large amounts of information, in real-time, is possible.” Dr. Costa explained that computer systems and applications are more consistent and more efficient at marking up data than humans. “I believe this is going to be a real game changer in terms of being able to use AI in the operational space,” said Dr. Costa.

To hear more from Dr. Costa on how the U.S. Space Force is leveraging data and space-based AI capabilities to maintain a competitive edge in the space domain, click the video below.

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During the modernization and digital transformation sessions at AUSA 2022, attendees learned that the U.S. Army has begun to adopt cutting-edge technologies to be able to maintain both deterrent and warfighting advantages over its adversaries. Autonomous technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), are top of mind for the Army, especially as it pertains to protecting its assets in space.

The U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) interests in space do not end with the U.S. Space Force and Air Force. All military branches have a deep reliance on space, as most of the military connectivity, communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance activities likely pass through the DoD’s space architecture at one point in time.

This is particularly true for the Army. For warfighters in off-grid environments, connectivity provided by satellite communications (SATCOM) can sometimes be their only line of communication to mission leaders and decision-makers at central command. Army leadership relies on SATCOM to make intel-based decisions and then transmit those orders to the warfighter in theatre. Without SATCOM, warfighters can be left in the dark, putting their mission and lives at risk, and senior decision-makers would lack the real-time intelligence they need to make data-driven decisions.

Army automation through AI/ML
U.S. near-peer competitors are fully aware of how critical SATCOM services are to the U.S. Army and look to undermine and degrade them by any means necessary. From jamming to kinetic attacks – which adversaries like China and Russia have proven to be capable of – the Army must protect its satellites and other space assets from these types of threats by developing and employing new technologies that are capable of defending against such attacks.

And it seems that the Army has found that cutting-edge defensive solution in AI/ML. Thankfully, these solutions couldn’t have come at a more opportune time, as U.S. adversaries are now explicitly calling for the attacks of American commercial satellites. In recent news coming out of Russia, senior foreign ministry officials at the Kremlin have stated that U.S. commercial satellites and their “quasi-civilian infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike.”

As the threat to Army assets in space moves from theoretical to looming reality, the DoD has kicked its vision for a resilient space architecture into high-gear, with military leadership looking to AI/ML for automated threat detection and defense of American space assets.

One area of particular interest to the Army is having the ability to switch frequencies and signals across satellites and orbits. If a satellite were about to be jammed, degraded, or destroyed, the Army can now begin deploying AI/ML software that can detect an attack before it occurs and transfer service over from the soon-to-be compromised satellite to another protected and available asset within the space architecture. 

Through advancements in AI/ML automation, detection and response of potential interference or targeting occurs much faster than it would with manually monitoring. If a space asset has indeed been compromised, AI/ML enables satellite frequencies to automatically roll over to another satellite in the same orbit, or even a different orbit, denying any enemy attempts to interrupt service. This new technology is invaluable as Army decision-makers cannot afford to have congested or degraded communications, especially when critical missions and lives on the ground are at stake.

O3b mPOWER and smart tech
For commercial satellite companies like SES Space and Defense, these AI/ML advancements will complement the natively smart capabilities that have been installed on their newer satellites. The company’s highly anticipated Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) constellation – O3b mPOWER – will be inherently hardened against such adversarial attacks and will have automated detection and response capabilities already baked into the assets.

To take it a step further, SES has also successfully tested O3b mPOWER’s multi-orbit capability set, which is a critical component for AI/ML technology to operate seamlessly. In September of 2021, SES and Hughes successfully utilized the Hughes Resource Management System to seamlessly switch signals across SES satellites in MEO and Geostationary orbit (GEO).

According to Jim Hooper, SES Space and Defense’s Senior Vice President for Space Initiatives, the successfully multi-orbit tests illustrated, “…the power of next-generation satellite services and technologies to provide mission-critical, assured communications to the government and military, at a time when connectivity is increasingly essential.”

Increasingly autonomous COMSATCOM software that leverages AI/ML, combined with the smart technology that has already been built into commercial satellite constellations, like O3b mPOWER, can provide the U.S. Army with a more resilient space architecture. As a result, the Army will be fully prepared to thwart adversarial attacks and continue to deliver seamless and interrupted connectivity, communications, intel, and other mission-critical services to warfighters on the ground.

To learn more about how Hughes and SES successfully switched signals between GEO, MEO, and LEO satellites, click HERE.

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Understanding that cloud customers will rely on satellite to access their cloud services and cloud-native applications in geographically remote and isolated areas, Microsoft recently launched Azure Space, and announced a number of innovative partnerships with satellite providers, such as SES Space and Defense. They also introduced Azure Orbital and the Azure Modular Data Center, which are designed to help make cloud connectivity at the tactical edge easier for government cloud users.

In the second part of our illuminating interview with Steve, we set out to learn more about these exciting announcements from Azure Space. We also discussed how innovations in the space and satellite industry are opening the door for the ubiquitous, global connectivity necessary to power government cloud and digital transformation initiatives.

Government Satellite Report (GSR): While our readers are undoubtedly familiar with Microsoft Azure, they may not be as familiar with Azure Space, which I understand is a relatively new entity. Can you tell our readers a bit more about Azure Space and its mission?

Steve Kitay: Microsoft publicly launched Azure Space a year ago, although we’ve been working on standing it up for more than two years. The mission of Azure Space is bringing the cloud and space together to empower our customers both on and off the planet.

Our approach to Azure Space is through partnerships and enabling an ecosystem. Microsoft isn’t building and launching its own satellites, but rather partnering with others that do to provide connectivity solutions both to space systems, and anywhere on earth.

We also have cutting-edge AI and machine learning (ML) algorithms to drive insights from the data coming from space. We are also supporting the developer community with unique simulation and digital engineering capabilities. And lastly, while we’re not building or launching our own satellites, we’re bringing our innovation into space.

For example, HP has a computer on the ISS called the Spaceborne computer that we’ve connected to the hyperscale cloud to enable researchers and astronauts to do more. There are a variety of innovation areas that we’re exploring and working on both on and off the planet.

GSR: What is Microsoft Azure Orbital? What does it enable government cloud users to do?

Steve Kitay: Azure Orbital is a fully managed, cloud-based ground station as a service that allows users to communicate with their satellite constellation. This allows them to download data, uplink commands, and process data in the cloud. It also enables Azure services to be deployed to generate products for their customers.

“Governments worldwide are looking for these kinds of connectivity solutions to meet their needs. What we’re doing with SES is bringing the connectivity and compute together so that they’re not just moving the data, but they’re deriving insights and understanding from that data.” – Steve Kitay

Ultimately, it provides modern ground segment technologies, allowing satellite operators to focus on their space mission and product, offloading the responsibility of deployment and maintenance of ground station assets.

The system that we’ve built out is on top of Azure’s global infrastructure and low-latency global fiber networks. The capability of Azure Orbital is building upon a partner ecosystem that includes KSAT, ViaSat, Kratos, Emergent Space Technologies, and several others.

GSR: What about the Microsoft Modular Data Center (MDC)? What is the MDC and what does it do? How is it different from other data centers? What can it enable for government cloud users?

Steve Kitay: We have a suite of edge capabilities, and the MDC is one of them. The MDC and our other edge devices enable the use of Azure from anywhere in the world.

MDC gives customers the capability to deploy a modular data center to remote locations, or to augment existing infrastructure. A major differentiator for the MDC is that customers can run the unit with full network connectivity, or in situations where it’s occasionally connected or even fully disconnected.

“Microsoft isn’t building and launching its own satellites, but rather partnering with others that do to provide connectivity solutions both to space systems, and anywhere on earth.” – Steve Kitay

We have also built in an ability to have satellite connectivity with SES, and other providers, to enable the data center to be connected back to the hyperscale cloud.

GSR: In a recent press release, it was announced that Microsoft would leverage the SES multi-orbit satellite system to give government entities to cloud resources practically anywhere on the globe. Why is a multi-orbit satellite solution ideal for this? What advantages does a multi-orbit constellation or service have over one that is in a single, dedicated orbit?

Steve Kitay: SES is a close partner of Microsoft, and their multi-orbit satellite constellation allows us to better service our customers.

By enabling our customers to access different satellite services at different orbits, we’re giving them the choice and flexibility to choose the right satellite service for their needs and requirements.

Satellite services from different orbits have different advantages, and different satellite services may be optimal for a particular customer’s needs and requirements. By enabling access to multiple options, Microsoft ensures that they have different options they need to meet their needs in regard to pricing, bandwidth, capacity, latency and other factors.

“Azure Orbital is a fully managed, cloud-based ground station as a service that allows users to communicate with their satellite constellation. This allows them to download data, uplink commands, and process data in the cloud.” – Steve Kitay

Our approach brings together partnerships and products to create a comprehensive and resilient satellite tool and solutions that meet the needs of our customers.

GSR: SES is on the precipice of launching a new satellite service – SES O3b mPOWER. What will this new service mean for government and military cloud users? How can it change what is currently possible at the tactical edge?

Steve Kitay: O3b mPOWER is a satellite constellation that we’re specifically partnering with and that they’re leveraging Azure Orbital for ground infrastructure. It’s a Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite service that delivers a tremendous increase in flexibility and throughput speed, and cloud-scale capacity to Azure locations across the Earth. And, ultimately, what that means for customers is that fiber-equivalent connectivity will now be available wherever users are located – including in the air, at sea, or on the ground in remote sites in geographically-isolated regions.

O3b mPOWER is delivering secure and resilient network architecture for robust connectivity whether the mission is establishing a secure network at a tactical edge or deploying a UAV for live HD video along a border. Governments worldwide are looking for these kinds of connectivity solutions to meet their needs. What we’re doing with SES is bringing the connectivity and compute together so that they’re not just moving the data, but they’re deriving insights and understanding from that data.

For additional information about how Ob3 mPOWER can enable next-generation technologies on the battlefield, click HERE to download a complimentary copy of the whitepaper, “High Throughput Satellites for U.S. Government Applications.”

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This digital transformation was arguably kickstarted by the widespread adoption of the cloud and cloud resources across the government. And it’s being driven forward by cloud-native applications that are being developed, deployed, and hosted in the cloud, where they can be accessed by government and military personnel whenever and wherever the mission requires.

While this digital transformation will only result in the government becoming more effective and efficient, it can only succeed if connectivity and access to cloud resources are ubiquitous across the globe.

The connectivity required for government and military organizations to access and utilize cloud services at the tactical edge is most effectively delivered by satellite. This is creating new collaborations and partnerships between those that operate satellite networks, and the organizations that provide cutting-edge cloud services.

One of the cloud providers leading the pack in embracing satellite connectivity is Microsoft Azure, which recently launched Azure Space, and announced a number of innovative partnerships with satellite providers, such as SES Space and Defense.

We recently sat down with Steve Kitay, the Senior Director of Azure Space at Microsoft, to discuss the trends driving the need for satellite and cloud partnerships, and how cloud services delivered via satellite could revolutionize how governments operate.

Government Satellite Report (GSR): Transitioning to the cloud has been a major initiative for the government over the course of the last few years. What types of cloud use cases are we seeing in the government? What different types of applications and workloads are being moved to the cloud by government agencies? Are mission-critical workloads making their way into the cloud?

Steve Kitay: Government agencies want to benefit from commercial cloud innovation. They want to take advantage of its speed, its scale, and its agility. Transitioning to the cloud reduces costs, provides access to the latest technologies, and diminishes the burden of having to maintain their own legacy infrastructure.

We see government agencies moving a range of workloads to the cloud to rapidly grow their mission capabilities. At the start of the COVID pandemic, we saw a rapid shift to cloud services to enable secure remote work environments through Azure Commercial and Government Clouds, and through the Office 365 productivity suites.

We’re seeing this shift to the cloud across a range of agencies. We’re working with a number of agencies, in particular, to help them use the cloud to solve their mission problems. The Department of Agriculture has leveraged a project called Farm Beats that accesses Azure’s repositories of analytics tools to understand data, and uses AI to help farmers cut costs, increase yields and sustainably grow crops that are more resilient to threats like climate change.

“When we bring (IoT and hybrid infrastructure) together, with AI running across these systems, we enter into an era of Intelligent Edge – a continually expanding set of connected systems and devices that gather and analyze information close to the physical world where the data resides and is harvested.” – Steve Kitay

The Department of Defense (DoD) is working on building out its enterprise cloud capabilities. Branches within the DoD, such as the Air Force, have deployed their own instances. Air Force Cloud One is a good example of a military branch using the cloud to provide foundational cloud capabilities, including networking, monitoring, access control, and identity management.

GSR: Are we seeing the need across different levels and organizations within the government for access to cloud solutions in the field, off-grid, and at the tactical edge? What is driving this requirement? What types of capabilities and applications are they looking to access?

Steve Kitay: The U.S. Government has been clear that they are trying to tap into commercial innovation to unlock new mission scenarios that were simply not possible before. There are two trends that we’re seeing in the government that really illustrate that.

The first trend is the Internet of Things (IoT), which utilizes smart sensors, connected devices, and other network-enabled endpoints to change the way that agencies approach problems. From equipment maintenance, to measuring air quality, to smart cities, and even military outposts, they’re implementing devices that are cloud-connected by default.

The other trend is movement towards hybrid infrastructure – or the integration of traditional datacenter infrastructure, edge devices, and the public cloud. This gives the government access to more compute capabilities in even the world’s most remote locations.

When we bring these two technology trends together, with AI running across these systems, we enter into an era of Intelligent Edge – a continually expanding set of connected systems and devices that gather and analyze information close to the physical world where the data resides and is harvested. This enables them to get real-time insights and immersive experiences that are highly responsive and contextually aware.

There is a space program that is a great example of the Intelligent Edge called the Casino Program, which was done with the Defense Innovation Unit in support of the U.S. Space Force. The rising number of satellites proliferating in low earth orbit (LEO) presents a new data challenge for the ground segment of missions—a segment that is often overlooked.

The Casino Program Office demonstrated fast, flexible, and extensible cloud commercial capabilities for ground processing in support of defense missions.  In this project, the joint Ball Aerospace and Microsoft team demonstrated the ability to transmit overhead, persistent infrared data through commercial satellites to the ground and then be processed both in the hyperscale Azure data center, as well as directly to a tactical vehicle in the field that was equipped with an Azure stack edge device.

“The need for bandwidth and cloud services in remote locations is a large and growing global challenge. The alignment and integration of the Azure cloud with satellites and terrestrial networks further enables the connected, Intelligent Edge…” – Steve Kitay

In this scenario, the overhead satellites transmitted the images of the environment, and that data was then pushed to both Azure and the Azure stack edge device where machine learning algorithms processed the images and detected certain activities and features. This machine learning identification generated insights which were converted into messages and disseminated to multiple endpoints.

This project represents a huge leap forward in reducing the time to actionable insight—if users are on the ground in a tactical edge vehicle or located at a command center, users can obtain necessary information accurately, quickly, and securely.

GSR: How else could access to cloud resources at the tactical edge or on the battlefield impact our warfighters? What could it enable them to do? What services/capabilities could it make possible for them?

Steve Kitay: Well, another great example is the Army’s IVAS program, which is bringing state-of-the-art cloud and mixed reality capability to soldiers at the tactical edge.

The IVAS headset, which is based on HoloLens and augmented by Azure cloud services, delivers a platform that keeps soldiers safer and makes them more effective. The program delivers enhanced situational awareness, enabling information sharing, and decision making for a variety of scenarios.

GSR: Microsoft has been working with satellite providers – including SES – to enable remote, off-grid access to cloud resources. Why is satellite the right choice for this?

Steve Kitay: Satellite is the right choice because space provides is a global perspective. It enables us to connect people anywhere, whether they’re in the middle of the ocean, the desert, or anywhere else on the Earth.

What is changing now with satellite communications is the type of services being offered. New services are now available with higher bandwidth and lower latencies. And space-generated data is growing exponentially, which requires expanded ground control capabilities, as well as data processing, storage, and analytics to turn that data into knowledge and actionable insights.

The need for bandwidth and cloud services in remote locations is a large and growing global challenge. The alignment and integration of the Azure cloud with satellites and terrestrial networks further enables the connected, Intelligent Edge that I referenced earlier.

For additional information about how Ob3 mPOWER can enable next-generation technologies on the battlefield, click HERE to download a complimentary copy of the whitepaper, “High Throughput Satellites for U.S. Government Applications.”

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But when it comes to the United States’ place in near-peer competitions, where exactly does the global superpower fall on the spectrum?

At last month’s Space Innovation Summit 2021, David Hamilton, the Founder and CEO of America’s Future Series, and Nicolas Chaillan, the former – but first-ever – Chief Software Officer (CSO) of the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, held a fireside chat focused on the topic of near-peer competition.

The session and discussion primarily revolved around Chaillan, who recently stepped down from his position last September, and his experiences as CSO. During the session, Chaillan shared his thoughts on the United States’ role as a global competitor and the changes he believes the U.S. government needs to make in order to remain a dominant force on the world stage.

Chaillan had many wins at the Department of Defense (DoD), which included nudging the Department towards modern IT and cybersecurity infrastructures and demonstrating that the DoD could put an advanced cyber stack with zero trust architecture and baked-in security on legacy hardware.

But, as great as Chaillan’s wins were for the Department, he couldn’t shake the startling realizations he was having as CSO. “We proved again and again that all this is possible,” said Chaillan. “It is possible to move at a pace of relevance in the U.S. government. Unfortunately, what we were not seeing is a sense of urgency, particularly when it comes to China.”

According to Chaillan, the term “near-peer adversary” should not be applied in any discussion pertaining to China. “We like to call them the near-peer adversary, but I completely disagree with that,” explained Chaillan. “I would argue that they’re leading actually in cybersecurity, and also in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) adoption.”

Chaillan pointed to strict mandates placed on enterprise and industry technologies by the Chinese government as the primary catalyst of China surpassing the U.S. in these areas. But, in the end, Chaillan ultimately places most of the blame on the U.S. government for China’s lead.

“We see the U.S. government becoming complacent and getting used to China catching up,” said Chaillian. “We should be leading so far with the amount of money we’re spending…We probably get a 10 cent ROI on the dollar.”

Chaillan also directed sharp criticism towards the DoD’s current reliance on waterfall IT approaches, its slow-drip pace on agile adoption, the Department’s “nightmare of an acquisition process,” as well as “siloes and egos,” all of which he believes is crippling the U.S. from becoming a credible competitor on the world stage.

According to Chaillan, all of the U.S. government’s pitfalls equate to a “very poor return on investment ratio, which leads to China catching up.”

To illustrate his vision of how he’d like the U.S. government to position itself in terms of being a global competitor, he used Tesla as an example.

“Tesla is completely fine open-sourcing their patents, because they’re moving so fast that they know by the time their competitors even remotely catch up, they’re going to be five miles ahead.” He explained that the U.S. should “be exactly in that role.”

Chaillan believes that the U.S. is in a bit of denial when it pertains to its attitude of where the country falls on the competitive spectrum. “We need to stop telling ourselves that we’re way ahead and someday they’ll catch us.”

Chaillan also explained that China is targeting to be the world leader in AI by 2030, and that the country is already far ahead of where our current capabilities stand. And even though the 2030 date may make it seem like the U.S. has time to catch up, Chaillan revealed a startling fact about China’s dominance in the AI arena. A fact that he believes should be a wake-up call for the U.S. government.

Due to the nature of AI technology and how it advances and evolves, “You get to a point where you won’t be able to catch up,” explained Chailllan. “So, we estimate December of 2022 to be the deadline by which if the U.S. government does not wake up, we will not have an ability to catch up. And that means a real existential threat for our kids and the nation.”

Despite Chaillan’s bleak outlook, he does believe there are solutions that can help change the U.S. government’s course for the better.

He believes that the concept of agility is key. “The whole concept of agile is the continuous, small, and incremental delivery of value in production in a tangible way used by the actual end-user warfighter,” explained Chaillan.

Chaillan explained that the U.S. government needs to improve on training leaders and warfighters on agile. He also believes that training to needs to happen much earlier during the on-boarding process. Chaillan also believes that mandating DevSecOps approaches to new programs would be a huge step forward for the DoD. He also pointed to further empowerment of current and future workforces, by investing in continuous learning and being on top of breaking IT and cybersecurity trends.

Space and satellite innovation

China taking the lead in AI and ML innovation should be a wake-up call to our country – an example of how complacency can result in us losing our leadership position in other areas. The space domain would be one area where America has always led in innovation and capability, but could soon find their leadership in question.

The U.S. military has always relied on space capabilities to enable warfighters in the field. Our near-peer adversaries have seen the success and strategic edge that space and satellites technologies have given the U.S. in the past, and they want to emulate it. Though the U.S. has remained extremely competitive in space, it is anticipated that that edge could quickly evaporate.

One way that the U.S. can maintain its lead ahead of near-peer competitors is to turn to the innovations and solutions the commercial satellite industry can provide. Today’s commercial satellite industry is the clear innovator in the space domain, and the military should be looking to leverage their solutions whenever possible, instead of building their own.

Building and launching the satellites that the commercial satellite industry is launching today could take the U.S. military half a decade or more, depending on how smoothly the appropriation and acquisition processes run. Instead of the U.S. government building and launching its own purpose-built satellites and having them operational in five year’s time, it could partner with the commercial satellite companies whose technologies and services are immediately available, can be tailored to specific mission needs, and are priced at a fraction of the cost of building an entire satellite.

The concern about the U.S. losing its competitive and innovative edge extends well beyond AI, cybersecurity, and machine learning. In fact, it’s a problem that extends all the way into space. Partnering closely with industry, the true innovators in space, instead of trying to emulate what industry partners are doing today could save years of time and money for the U.S. government, and help the country maintain its competitive edge in space.

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