The Space Force has selected six commercial space domain awareness companies to support military operations with both steady-state and surge capacity, as part of the service’s new Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve.
Officials have been working since 2022 to establish a fleet of commercial satellites and other assets to provide capabilities like satellite imagery, space domain awareness, and communications during peacetime that can be surged on demand. The concept is not unlike the Air Force’s Civil Reserve Air Fleet, which leases aircraft capacity from commercial airliners for use during a conflict.
Last year, the Space Force announced it would pilot the CASR program with four unnamed companies who specialize in identifying and tracking objects in space—also called space domain awareness. The service awarded them 90-day contracts worth a combined $1.1 million, and in the ensuing months conducted a series of wargames and training events to better understand how to integrate their capabilities and services into its operations.
These new contracts announced Oct. 22 are meant to operationalize that capability and create a pool of CASR companies specifically focused on SDA. Those firms include:
- Anduril
- Intrack
- Slingshot
- LeoLabs
- EOS, an Australian firm
- Northstar, a Canadian firm
Space Force officials explained to reporters Oct. 21 at AFCEA’s annual Space Industry Days conference that the six companies initially tapped for CASR are firms that operators already trust today and would turn to should something happen on orbit that requires more visibility or object tracking capabilities. According to Lt. Col. Brandon Galindo, all of the companies in this initial cohort currently work with the Joint Commercial Operations Cell, a Space Force hub that integrates commercial space data and services and shares it with joint international partners.
“What we heard from the operational community is that … if something were to happen on orbit, debris or some breakup scenario, these are the companies on the commercial side that we would really depend upon,” Galindo said.
That said, the initial cohort of space domain awareness companies isn’t meant to be static. Col. Tim Trimailo, director of the Commercial Space Office said other companies will have a chance to onboard in the future.
“This is not a chalk line that we’ve snapped that says you can never get into CASR for the space domain awareness mission,” he said during. “It’s a living program. So, we’re always looking for new entrants, new opportunities, new companies that have proven themselves and that are trusted partners to be part of CASR.”
While these are operational contracts, Trimailo said the initial dollar values—which he didn’t disclose—are fairly low. As the Space Force gets a handle on how much demand there is for the capabilities from operators within combatant commands, it will look at options to adjust funding.
Galindo echoed that sentiment, describing the program’s work to establish the reserve as an iterative process that will include regular updates within each mission area as well as opportunities to add new mission areas under the CASR umbrella. He also noted that contract terms and strategies will vary by company and by mission.
“It’s not cookie cutter,” he said. “Each mission area is so unique, the companies within a mission area are unique. And we love that, because then we can assemble the best companies that offer something unique and we can put them together.”
The Commercial Space Office has started to look at what its next CASR mission will be and is considering commercial satellite communications, launch, and telemetry, tracking, and command—which would leverage the Space Force’s existing Joint Antenna Marketplace—as potential options.