WASHINGTON \u2014 There\u2019s a role for commercial in every mission area of the U.S. Space Force, says the new service\u2019s portfolio architect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While commercial services have played a significant role in the military\u2019s satellite communications and launch enterprises, the Space Force has not integrated commercial services more widely, said Col. Russell Teehan, portfolio architect at the Space and Missile Systems Center. But as the service begins looking at its future plans, it sees industry as a much bigger partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs we go through the force design for the next 10 years, commercial is vital across every mission area,\u201d said Teehan. \u201cIn nearly every mission area, we\u2019re looking for rapid tech innovation. We\u2019re looking for hybrid architectures. And in a lot of cases, we\u2019re looking for commercial partnerships that lead us directly to allied partnerships in many of these areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPriorities in the past have been wideband SATCOM, launch, space domain awareness \u2014 but we\u2019re seeing significant growth on the Space Force side for going after ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance], weather, more launch, logistics, servicing \u2014 and so you\u2019re starting to see a large growth. It\u2019s no longer going to be, \u2018Which areas are using commercials?\u2019 All areas are going commercial, and right now it\u2019s not a matter of when are we doing it, it\u2019s how we do it, and how we do it rapidly so that we can have the Space Force acquire at the speed that commercial is already going,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Part of that effort, said Teehan, is creating more opportunities to work with small and nontraditional vendors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe old ecosystem was geared towards large primes that have eight to 15-year toeholds within a mission area or with a particular system, and the small businesses were in small business innovation research, and their only hope of coming up was to be integrated into some of those larger primes,\u201d said Teehan. \u201cBut a lot of the ecosystems we\u2019re working with now, we\u2019re trying to offer opportunities \u2014 like in software programs \u2014 where the small businesses can come directly into the ecosystem and into the market.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Space Force is working to open up more opportunities and engage with small businesses and nontraditional vendors, said Teehan. Events like Space Pitch Day, where companies can present their ideas and technologies to government officials and win contracts instantly in a \u201cShark Tank\u201d-style event, give small businesses the chance to interact with officials and learn about their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While those sorts of events have opened new doors, one thing Teehan would like to see is more interactions between operators and industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what the Army does really well. When the Army comes back from deployment, they go straight to one of the industry teams. The industry team invites another 10 industry teams, and they talk about what they wish they would have had in theater.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those sorts of touchpoints help companies learn what operators want in a way that requirements sometimes don\u2019t. In addition to fostering more contract opportunities for small businesses, Teehan wants the Space Force to create more engagements like that between guardians and all industry partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n