Space Force Official Outlines Roadmap for Commercial Partnerships

Home / Articles / External / Government

ULA's Vulcan VC2S rocket launch
A United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan VC2S rocket launches its first certification mission from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, Jan. 8, 2024 (U.S. Space Force photo by DeAnna Murano).

June 18, 2024 | Originally published by U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) on April 24, 2024

Lt. Gen. Shawn N. Bratton, the Space Force’s deputy chief of space operations, strategy, plans, programs, and requirements, said the service’s recently released Commercial Space Strategy challenges leaders to think about new pathways for commercial partnerships and capitalize on rapidly emerging technology.

“How do we make ourselves a little uncomfortable and go into areas where we haven’t explored, or we haven’t partnered with commercial as much?” Bratton said in describing the genesis of the strategy during a discussion hosted by the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan public policy organization in Washington. “And then, how do we build on just this long history where we’ve worked with commercial partners in more traditional areas like satellite communications?”

The strategy outlines four lines of effort to operationalize the integration of commercial space capabilities:  collaborative transparency, operational and technical integration, risk management, and forward-leaning engagement to secure the future.

Focus Areas