How can the Department of War improve the identification and prioritization (for repair) of space-supporting infrastructure system vulnerabilities, including both environmental hazards and adversarial threats? In addressing these vulnerabilities, how can the U.S. military best take advantage of the domestic space industry to enhance its capabilities, both technologically and in terms of infrastructure and economics?
To optimize this shared infrastructure, how can the USAF integrate its launch infrastructure across both the Eastern and Western ranges to better partner with industry? What are the limitations and advantages of partnering with the commercial sector for launch on DoD facilities, specifically regarding shared access, FPCON levels, prioritization of needs and repairs, and cost-sharing? Ultimately, what structure should launch and range take in the United States to ensure robust, resilient, and collaborative space operations?
- Aglubat, Maj. Eric J., "Enhancing C3 for Mobility Aircraft: The Promise and Pitfalls of Starshield," AFGC thesis, 2025, 45 pgs.
- Aglubat argues that rather than relying solely on government-built systems, the military must leverage the commercial space sector—specifically proliferated low-Earth orbit (pLEO) constellations like SpaceX's Starshield—to offload research, development, and deployment costs. By combining the massive bandwidth and coverage of commercial systems with the secure, protected networks of organic military systems, the DOD can achieve optimal resilience. To make this collaboration work without compromising national security, he recommends negotiating strict agreements that transfer some of the constellation's command-and-control functions from SpaceX directly to the U.S. Space Force.
- Arrington, Gabe and Justin Chandler, "The Nature of Warfare Just Changed," Air Force Fellows Paper, 2022, 3 pgs.
- Beard, Maj. John E., "The Space Rings," ACSC AO 2025.
- Answered by Beard's structural analysis of space system vulnerabilities across both the public and private sectors. He highlights that space architectures are inherently fragile because their critical functions depend on a small number of core technologies, which creates single points of failure in launch infrastructure, mission planning software, and ground stations. To prioritize and mitigate these infrastructure vulnerabilities, Beard's model defines the second ring as the "Space Industrial and Sustainment Base" (including launch infrastructure, satellite processing, ground stations, and supply chains), and the third ring as "Functional Infrastructure" (including ground station networks, satellite crosslinks, data processing centers, and telemetry infrastructure). While these segments present attractive targets for adversaries, Beard emphasizes that their distributed nature can also be leveraged to build incredible operational redundancy and resilience if they are properly architected.
- Bibow, Lt. Col. Lars, "Space System Architectures: How to Improve the Resilience of the German Armed Forces Space communication Services," AWC PSP, 2022, 45 pgs.
- Brown, Lt. Col. Rhett, "Legal Property Rights in Space: Implications for the US Space Force and the Outer Space Treaty," AWC PSP, 2020, 22 pgs.
- Cohan, Maj. Geoff, "Reviving SpaceCRAF: The Commercial Agreement for the US Space Enterprise," ACSC Schriever paper, 2020, 30 pgs. Prize winner: Outstanding Military Studies Award
- Garlisi, Capt. Charles, "Development of a Satellite Combat Bus," SOS AUAR paper, 2020, 8 pgs.
- Green, Ms. Janis, "United Space: Military and Commercial Sectors Working Together to Harness Innovation in Space Research and Development," ACSC thesis, 2020, 30 pgs.
- Haun, Major Derek, "US Civil-Military Space Relations—Implications for the National Space Council Informed by the Air Coordinating Committee (1945-1960)," SAASS thesis, 2022, 88 pgs.
- Pambianchi, Major Johan and Major Jason Holt, "Advancing America's Space Characterization Ecosystem: An Organizational, Technological and Data-Driven Approach to Addressing Tomorrow's Space Conflicts," ACSC Paper, 2021, 118 pgs. PRIZE: Spaatz
- Ray, Maj. Julie N., "Keeping Commercial Space in the Fight," SAASS thesis, 2023, 75 pgs.
- Reis, Capt. Christopher, "A Distributed Test and Training Range for Space," SOS AUAR paper, 2020, 8 pgs.
- Van, Maj. Tan, "Space Tourism: Is the US Ready?," ACSC paper, 2020, 25 pgs.