Cohorts

While we did not seek conflict in space, we recognized the necessity of being prepared for one. The threat landscape was evolving, and our existing assets were designed for a past era of competition. The United States Space Force (USSF) needed the capability to relocate assets from contested areas to positions where they could contribute to the mission, as conflicts would be dynamic, and adversaries would also adapt. The ability to maneuver assets strategically focused on deterrence. By maximizing our current capabilities and repositioning them as needed, we enhanced our sustained space maneuverability, which allowed us to position forces optimally, gain a first-mover advantage, deter adversaries, negotiate from a position of strength, and generate flexible combat power across all domains.

This approach also alleviated the burden of reconstituting orbital capabilities. Enabling this strategy required augmented training to reflect combat conditions, policies that supported greater freedom of maneuverability, enhanced space domain awareness, modernized communication infrastructure, optimized space operator performance, and commercial support for on-orbit servicing.

SpaceWERX, in partnership with Assured Access to Space (AATS), sought cutting-edge ideas and state-of-the-art capabilities to advance the United States Space Force’s (USSF) digital transformation, hardware modernization, and operational enhancement of current and future spaceports.

AATS aligned Space Launch Deltas with Launch Acquisition Programs, fostering close cooperation on missions that extended beyond launch to include on-orbit space mobility and logistics. To build a strong foundation for these efforts, AATS focused on identifying quick wins that could improve the foundational elements of spaceports. These early successes were intended to lay the groundwork for scalable infrastructure, accelerating the USSF into the advanced digital age and increasing launch capacity.

SpaceWERX, in partnership with Space Systems Command, sought cutting-edge ideas and state-of-the-art capabilities to rapidly advance the United States Space Force’s (USSF) Positioning, Navigation, & Timing (PNT) capabilities. The focus was on new sensors, data sources, and processing techniques to significantly improve PNT resilience.

The goal of the SpaceWERX Alternative Positioning, Navigation, & Timing (AltPNT) Challenge was to explore the possibilities of alternate sources and the integration of positioning, navigation, and timing information, with the aim of enhancing and complementing the performance and resilience of the current Global Positioning System (GPS) architecture.

Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) was a capability designed to fly any payload to low Earth orbit on short notice. This rapid access effort utilized commercial mission partners, including commercial launch vehicles and services, during conflicts or crises to replenish military assets, deploy new ones, or augment existing capabilities. The mission aimed to reduce United States Space Force (USSF) response times from months or weeks to days or hours, significantly enhancing U.S. and allied resilience.

Developing the TacRS capability went beyond just launch efforts—it required the right infrastructure. The end-to-end approach focused on building an enduring, comprehensive ecosystem to support all actions and options in preparation for expedited launches. This ecosystem included processing strategies, logistics, space payload sensor integrations, space vehicles, launch vehicles and platforms, and ground integration systems.

The first Space Prime effort, Orbital Prime, will invigorate the On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) market for the foundational technologies. Orbital Prime will transition agile, affordable, and accelerated ISAM space capabilities to build the foundation for space logistics while preserving the global commons. On-orbit capability will be demonstrated on an accelerated timeline in two to four years.