WASHINGTON — A new report from a Pentagon advisory panel calls for greater adoption of commercial space technologies to bolster U.S. military capabilities.
The study, conducted by the Defense Science Board (DSB)a committee of civilian experts that advises senior Defense Department officials, recommends a comprehensive approach to integrating commercial space capabilities into national security architectures. The report was Commissioning in November 2022 by Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu and published last month.
The DSB panel that wrote the study, chaired by industry executive Mandy Vaughn and retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, emphasized the rapidly evolving nature of the space sector and the need for the Defense Department to take advantage of these advances.
“Commercial capabilities are critical to a resilient hybrid architecture,” the report said. The DSB study also looked at the potential risks associated with adversaries exploiting these systems.
The DSB recommendations include:
- Implementing an end-to-end framework for integrating commercial capabilities into national security space architectures
- Incorporating commercial space services assessments into institutional processes
- Building trust and resilience among commercial suppliers
- Developing capabilities to monitor and respond to adversarial use of commercial space assets
- Consider market maturity when making investment, regulatory or acquisition decisions
This report follows two recent strategy documents published by the Department of Defense and United States Space Force in April, both advocating for greater military adoption of commercial space technology for communications, space surveillance, navigation and other essential services.
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