WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Defense is stepping up efforts to partner with commercial space startups, viewing their dual-use technologies as crucial for maintaining military advantages, senior officials said Dec. 18.
The push comes as China makes significant investments in its own commercial space sector, prompting concerns about technological competition between the world's two largest economies.
"The commercial space market is very nascent," said Maj. Gen. Steven Butow, director of the Defense Innovation Unit's space portfolio, during a SpaceNews webinar. "So you need a lot of investment."
Butow emphasized the importance of economic rather than just military competition with China, which he said is investing heavily in its commercial space sector for both economic returns and military capabilities.
To streamline collaboration between private companies and government agencies, the U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command has expanded its "Front Door" initiative, a portal connecting commercial firms with potential government buyers. The program now includes over 20 government agencies, including NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office.
"We've even been asked by the international community to more or less franchise that so they can have their own Front Door," said Col. Richard Kniseley, head of the Commercial Space Office at Space Systems Command. He added that despite criticism about bureaucratic complexity in Pentagon space acquisitions, the program now offers improved response times and direct human interaction.
One emerging technology drawing particular interest is the concept of orbital warehouses. SpaceWERX, an innovation arm of the Air Force Research Laboratory, recently awarded a $71 million contract to California-based startup Inversion Space to develop this capability.
The technology could allow for rapid delivery of supplies to strategic regions, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, said Arthur Grijalva, director of SpaceWERX.
SpaceWERX operates with an annual budget exceeding $400 million from the Small Business Innovation Research program and other sources.
Grijalva said the military is considering deploying up to 30 of Inversion Space's orbital warehouses capable of delivering cargo anywhere on Earth within 30 minutes via reusable reentry capsules.