| 04/15/2025 | | National security insights for space professionals. Delivered Tuesdays. | | Welcome to this week's edition of SpaceNews Military Space, your source for the latest developments at the intersection of space and national security.
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|  | | | Space & defense brief ๐ฐ๏ธ
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Space Symposium dispatch: Commercial Integration, Allied Partnerships
The 40th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs last week brought together military leaders, industry executives, and international partners against a backdrop of increasing geopolitical tensions and rapid technological change in the space domain. Click here to get caught up on all the news from the symposium.
A few key takeaways: international space cooperation persists despite broader tensions; the U.S. Space Force is formalizing its approach to allied collaboration; procurement bottlenecks threaten America's competitive edge; and commercial partnerships remain central to future space architectures.
Space Cooperation persists amid global tensions
Space-based alliances are demonstrating remarkable resilience despite mounting geopolitical friction in other domains, according to military officials.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Space Force plans to unveil a formal strategy for international collaboration in the coming weeks, aiming to strengthen partnerships with allies in the increasingly contested space domain. The Space Force's forthcoming international strategy will detail how the service plans to work with allied nations on space operations, technology development and information sharing.
The service's move to formalize international partnerships comes as China and Russia aggressively advance their own space capabilities. Space Force chief of space operations Gen. Chance Saltzman emphasized the importance of strong alliances: "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Space power is the ultimate team sport."
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Trump's Executive Order seen as validation of Space Force strategy
A new presidential directive on defense acquisition aligns with existing Space Force efforts to leverage private sector capabilities, according to the service's top commercial integration official. -
Trump's April 9 executive order validates current approach, said Col. Rich Kniseley, chief of the commercial space office at Space Systems Command. -
Order directs DoD to increase commercial buys although officials point out that not all critical military space needs can be met by commercial systems. This includes strategic communications and GPS positioning, navigation and timing. Strategic communications and PNT capabilities, which underpin nuclear command and control and precision weapons guidance, remain areas where commercial alternatives face significant technical and security hurdles. WHAT'S NEXT
Space Systems Command aims to expand its commercial outreach with ongoing industry days and new solicitations planned throughout 2025, said Kniseley. -
Funding constraints remain a challenge, however, with officials acknowledging that budget limitations force difficult decisions between commercial services and government-owned systems. Kniseley said the Space Force is developing new mechanisms to address this tension. -
Acquisition reform has been a perennial challenge for military space programs, and stakeholders are watching closely to see whether this Trump directive produces a realignment in funding priorities. -
Industry executives privately express optimism about the policy direction but remain cautious about how quickly traditional acquisition processes can adapt to accommodate commercial space's rapid innovation cycles.
Procurement bottlenecks slow down space programs
Sluggish procurement processes are hindering the Pentagon's ability to keep pace with China's rapidly advancing space capabilities, warned retired Gen. John Hyten, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and ex-commander of U.S. Air Force Space Command. He noted that while China has significantly expanded its satellite deployments and developed counter-space weapons, the U.S. continues to operate largely the same equipment as a decade ago.
"Our entire U.S. commercial space industry has fundamentally changed," Hyten said. "The Chinese have produced hundreds of satellites that are on orbit, and they produce weapons that are on orbit, and then you look at our on-orbit capabilities, they're basically the same as they were 10 years ago."
Despite the establishment of the U.S. Space Force in December 2019, intended to accelerate space acquisition and development, the Pentagon's procurement system remains encumbered by outdated processes. Hyten emphasized the need for decisive action to reform acquisition strategies and empower program managers to swiftly integrate commercial innovations.
The warnings come amid growing concerns over the U.S.'s ability to maintain its strategic advantage in space, as adversaries continue to develop and deploy advanced space-based technologies.
| | |  | | | | | | Investment firm sees robust growth head for space defense sector
Investment advisers at Baird Defense & Government are projecting growth opportunities for defense-focused space companies, citing robust DoD spending and surging international demand in their analysis following the Space Symposium. -
Space funding could reach $40+ billion across Defense Department and intelligence agencies, according to Baird's post-symposium report, creating significant opportunities for companies providing space hardware and launch services. -
Growth trajectory "very favorable" for space/defense tech firms based on discussions with industry executives at the Colorado Springs event. Companies serving both government and commercial markets appear particularly well positioned. -
International demand "inflected materially higher" as foreign governments seek indigenous space capabilities independent of U.S. systems. This trend creates new export opportunities for American space companies. -
Trump administration pressure on allied defense spending contributing to overseas market expansion, with foreign governments increasingly willing to invest in sovereign space assets. -
The Baird report reflects investor confidence in the space defense sector at a time when pure-play commercial space companies have faced market skepticism.
Trade tensions impact space business
Meanwhile, escalating global trade tensions are hampering U.S. efforts to attract foreign companies, as tariffs and economic uncertainty make it harder for American regions to compete in a globally integrated space industry, said Dave Diaz, a senior business development officer in Loudoun County, Virginia.
Speaking Monday during a Via Satellite webinar, Diaz said U.S. tariff policies are undermining efforts to secure international space investment in the U.S. -
"I have been courting a satellite company in Europe for a year and a half," Diaz said. "They just told me 'We're taking the U.S. off the radar.'" -
Diaz, who is organizing a startup pitch competition in October aimed at early-stage space companies, said the shifting trade environment is forcing some firms to walk away before negotiations can materialize. "We just can't wait until the dust settles," he added. -
As SpaceNews reported, the satellite sector is now facing a complicated landscape. The industry sources components such as semiconductors, optics and propulsion systems from a range of countries, making it especially vulnerable to rising trade barriers. The uncertainty has started to weigh on U.S.-based manufacturers, several of whom spoke on condition of anonymity at last week's Space Symposium. These executives expressed concern that they may soon be unable to offer fixed-price bids on government contracts due to unpredictable increases in component costs. "If we can't forecast costs, we can't lock in prices โ and that's a dealbreaker for government fixed-priced contracts."
| | |  | | | In other news ๐ | | The U.S. Space Force's Systems Command has assigned the first nine National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions under the fiscal year 2025 portion of the Phase 3 Lane 2 contracts. SpaceX captured seven launches worth $845.8 million and United Launch Alliance (ULA) secured two missions valued at $427.6 million.
The original split was 5/4 rather than 7/2. ULA had originally been assigned the NROL-96 and NROL-157 missions but lost them to SpaceX due to ongoing construction and upgrades at ULA's West Coast launch facility for its Vulcan rocket. Both missions require launches into lower energy orbits from the Western Range at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
|  | | | | Umbra, a California-based manufacturer of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, has been tapped to develop next-generation sensor satellites aimed at enhancing maritime and open-ocean search capabilities for the United States and its allies in the Indo-Pacific region.
The company was selected to develop these satellites under a public-private agreement known as Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) that could be valued at up to $60 million pending final contracting and co-investment commitments.
| | | | Boeing subsidiary Millennium Space Systems is nearly doubling its satellite manufacturing capacity as it works to deliver on a backlog of defense contracts.
"We're at an inflection point where we have to prove we can deliver these missions at rate," said Tony Gingiss, who took over as CEO in December. The company aims to increase production from one or two satellites monthly to between six and 12 โ a leap for an industry historically known for methodical, low-volume work.
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