Top Priority

The U.S. Government continues to signal its recognition of space resilience as a “top priority” with the release of the 2024 budget. This according to Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, as quoted in SpaceNews. Though many of the details have yet to be revealed (excepting the classified pieces), it seems clear that the emphasis on resilient space continues unabated. Major programs by the Space Development Agency (SDA) and others demonstrate an increasingly new approach to the development of future space capabilities by the DoD. For years it seemed that many were simply “admiring the problem,” however now significant funding is being committed to address the resilience shortfalls. Whether these solutions prove to be effective and affordable remains to be seen, but moving in the direction of more distributed, diversified systems of systems cannot be a bad thing and is fundamental to increasing resilience against a wide range of threats both in space and on the ground.

In many cases the real questions will be largely twofold: are these new constructs able to deliver the required and expected performance compared to their past equivalents, and will they prove to be sustainable from a cost standpoint. The increased reliance on commercial systems is also a concern when it comes to assured access. So the next several years will be illuminating as these new solutions become operational and their utility and resilience are proven (or not).