The U.S. Space Force plans to partner with commercial entities for government programs aimed at establishing a deep-space architecture, SpaceNews reported Wednesday.
Col. Russell Teehan, portfolio architect of the Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), said at a SpaceNews webinar that the military branch envisions a “notional operational architecture” that will defend the nation’s space assets while handling strategic and theater activities.
“There’s a lot of commercial activity within low Earth orbits, a lot of [satellite communications], positioning, navigation and timing,” he said. According to Teehan, theater operations will largely benefit from current and emerging small-satellite technologies.
Col. Joseph Roth, director of the innovation and prototyping directorate at SMC, noted at the same event that the Space Force is continuing work with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the Blackjack program aimed at establishing a layered defense network in LEO.
“Our goal is to get a prototype from paper to prototype in 12 to 24 months and get that system up on orbit so we can test it,” Roth added.
