The global space race is intensifying, with countries like China and Russia making significant strides in their space capabilities. Fortunately, commercial entrepreneurs are also in the race, driving a dramatic transformation of the space industry. This burgeoning space economy, fueled by private investment and technological advancements, holds immense potential to empower tomorrow’s warfighters. Leaders throughout the United States and partner nations are developing commercial integration strategies. To fully realize these strategies, the U.S. needs to invest more than just dollars — it must adopt a forward-thinking approach to spectrum management that encourages collaboration between federal agencies and commercial satellite operators.
The imperative to embrace commercial access to federal spectrum
President Joe Biden has called radio frequency spectrum one of “our nation’s most important national resources.” Indeed, the National Spectrum Strategy objective 1.1 is to “Ensure sufficient spectrum access to support Federal agency missions now and into the future.” Yet, the demand for spectrum has never been greater. The strategy identifies five spectrum bands totaling 2,786 megahertz for in-depth, near-term study to determine suitability for potential repurposing, with a focus on increasing midband spectrum for mobile services in the U.S. Notably, 1,275 megahertz of the spectrum under study is in the X-band, which serves as the backbone of U.S. and allied military SATCOM capabilities.
In 2017, General Hyten, then Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, stated, “I won’t support the development any further of large, big, fat, juicy targets.” Defense Department (DoD) communication satellites, broadcasting powerful signals from fixed geostationary locations, are certainly such targets. Nonetheless, the U.S. and allied services depend on tens of thousands of terminals that can only operate on geosynchronous satellites and in federal spectrum (both X- and “military Ka-” bands). While the DoD is moving to demonstrate and develop new capabilities to operate on low Earth orbit and medium Earth orbit constellations, it will take decades to replace the installed terminal base. The orthogonal demands to continue supporting legacy operations while avoiding deploying more DoD-owned vulnerable targets create an imperative to embrace commercial offerings in the federal bands. By integrating commercial capabilities with federal operations, we can create a more resilient and versatile space infrastructure. While Russia has explicitly declared that commercial satellites are valid targets, having more satellites from more providers in orbit certainly complicates their political and targeting calculus, and opens up additional paths and capabilities for U.S. and allied forces.
Fostering innovation and collaboration
At the recent Spacepower 2024 Conference, Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch, senior vice president of government strategy and policy at Viasat, observed that “we have a lot of work yet to do to achieve this integration, where we have the ability to take the best that commercial brings to bear right alongside and foundational to the core military capabilities.” Viasat, with its Global Express constellation, offers an important example of how commercial operators can provide trusted service in federal spectrums. Unfortunately, they were forced to file for their spectrum and slots outside of U.S. or NATO countries, even though they are now sharing space on the same spacecraft as the DoD’s Enhanced Polar Satellite. XTAR, Hisdesat and MOD Spain offer another innovative example of public-private partnership, leveraging the strengths of both sectors to achieve common goals. In this model, MOD Spain provides the filings, Hisdesat provides support to MOD Spain, and XTAR offers up additional capacity on a commercial basis to NATO partners. The U.S. Navy has embraced the offerings of both Viasat and XTAR and is working to integrate these capabilities into dynamic operations to enhance resiliency and meet burgeoning demand.
Indeed, Lt. Gen. Guetlein recently emphasized that addressing the threat will require a fundamental shift in how the U.S. approaches space operations. Key to this strategy, he said, will be closer collaboration with international allies and commercial industry. “In the past, we didn’t believe we could count on our commercial partners and international partners during times of crisis,” Guetlein said. “That has completely changed.”
Sharing federal spectrum with commercial satellite providers is a win-win proposition. Inviting the industry to file for new services in U.S.-sponsored International Telecommunication Union filings will demonstrate the U.S. commitment to commercial integration. This will foster innovation, drive competition and enhance national security. It is time to embrace this opportunity and ensure that the U.S. and our partners remain global leaders in space exploration and technology.
Clay Bosler is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and longtime contractor in the space and communications industry. He is currently the Vice President for Strategic Programs at Supinf Technologies, LLC
