For its latest Hyperspace Challenge accelerator, the U.S. Space Force chosen three startups specializing in satellite propulsion, picks reflecting the military’s growing interest in nimble satellites that may maneuver to outplay adversaries.
This marks a shift for the Pentagon, which traditionally has launched satellites into orbit and restricted their movements to conserve fuel. But with rivals fielding maneuverable spacecraft, U.S. officials are calling for a shift to “dynamic space operations,” enabled by autonomous refueling and other in-orbit services.
“Having the power to refuel would really open latest possibilities,” said John Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy. He said the Pentagon is inspired to see industrial corporations developing technologies for in-orbit logistics that even have significant utility for the military.
Maneuvering satellites and refueling support would give the military options to raised defend its assets in space, said Col. Greg Hoffman, senior materiel leader on the Space Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office.
“Traditionally, we focused on positional operations where a satellite is launched, put into an orbital slot, and largely stays there,” he said. U.S. adversaries are actually deploying satellites that may maneuver and rendezvous with other objects, which puts the U.S. at a drawback.
While refueling wasn’t a priority before, mobility and logistics are actually a “hugely essential area for our combatant commanders,” said Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, Space Systems Command’s program executive officer for assured access to space.
“We hear rather a lot from U.S. Space Command on the necessity to find a way to maneuver without regret and the importance of dynamic space operations,” she said. “But none of that may occur unless we’re investing in and operationalizing these capabilities.”
Panzenhagen oversees a brand new office based at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, focused on space mobility and logistics programs. Using a congressional earmark, the office recently agreed to co-fund a project with the industrial firm Astroscale to develop an on-orbit refueling vehicle over the following two years. The Space Force is also funding in-orbit refueling experiments that it hopes to launch by 2025.
“We’re beginning to put together this system office; we’re beginning to put together the justification for a more consistent funding stream,” Panzenhagen said. “The sense of urgency is unquestionably there. We would like to be certain that the things we placed on contract, we are literally in a position to transition into operations.”
The Space Rapid Capabilities Office co-sponsored this 12 months’s Hyperspace Challenge to get more insight into industrial technologies that might enable dynamic space operations, equivalent to satellite propulsion. Three of the six chosen startups — Phase 4, Dawn Aerospace and Magdrive — are advancing propulsion systems for small spacecraft.
It continues to be unclear, nevertheless, that the Space Force has a method to transition emerging satellite-servicing technologies to procurement programs and field a sustainable space infrastructure.
Military enthusiasm for in-space logistics could provide the momentum needed to propel tech developments, said Forrest Underwood, an area industry entrepreneur who advises startups on navigating the federal government procurement landscape.
However the infrastructure needed for dynamic space operations is probably not achievable if the Space Force follows the familiar procurement pathways, he said. Today, many promising technologies are stuck in small-business research projects, and lots of enterprise investors are reluctant to assist these projects scale up in the event that they don’t see a way forward for larger government contracts.
Industrial corporations that will not be established defense contractors need more opportunities to prove themselves and get feedback from the federal government so that they can improve their products, Underwood said.
Currently, nearly all of the funding goes to legacy programs, leaving latest entrants “fighting over scraps,” he said.
The military is telling the industry it wants a way forward for dynamic space operations. Innovators and investors within the private sector are able to help, Underwood said, “nevertheless it all sort of comes back to the fundamentals: If there’s a sufficiently compelling signal from the federal government to industry, the solutions will pop up.”