Space force turns to venture capital to tap commercial innovation

The US Space Force is deepening its engagement with private investment firms to speed adoption of emerging technologies, a senior defense official said, according to Defense One.

Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, the military deputy and acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition, said the service has been actively working with venture capital and investment communities through initiatives like SpaceWERX.

“Another innovation influence for us, which is new, is the introduction of the acquisition for the Space Force to the venture capital community and the investment community—not a community we interacted with in the past,” Purdy said August 28 during the National Defense Industrial Association’s emerging technology conference. “This is a whole new community that we've been engaging with, learning with, going to their activities and understanding what their thinking is.”

As part of this effort, the Space Force has created a “pool” of companies with products the service believes have direct applications for military space missions, Purdy said. The new approach has prompted a re-evaluation of more traditional acquisition programs to see where commercial alternatives may be viable.

One example is the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP), which supports space domain awareness. After launching industry engagement earlier this year, the service saw an “overwhelming” response, with more than 150 companies expressing interest, Purdy noted.

The strategy reflects the Space Force’s push to increase reliance on lower-cost commercial technologies and avoid dependence on single vendors.

“We will fly multiple companies’ material. That's going to keep all those different lines and all those different companies active and hungry to go for that next tranche,” Purdy said.

By Sabina Mammadli