Dynamic space operations have been identified as a key area of focus for the Space Force.
In 2023, then-U.S. Space Command Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. John Shaw made several full-throated pitches for investing in capabilities to support dynamic space operations.
It is now time for U.S. military assets to spend “most of their lifetime changing their energy state and maneuvering, as opposed to staying in orbit,” he said in one such appearance, on July 6, 2023, with the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
In the nearly two years since, the concept of dynamic space operations has taken on an urgency at U.S. Space Command (Spacecom) and within the broader U.S. Space Force. China is demonstrating proximity operations with its defunct satellites and around Western satellites, and is now practicing what is being described by senior service officials as “dogfighting in space.” Russia has tested a “nesting doll” satellite concept in which a smaller satellite emerges from a larger spacecraft.
Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman has said the Space Force needs the ability to “maneuver without regret” on orbit, while Spacecom Commander Stephen Whiting highlighted “on-orbit refueling, in-space assembly, modular hardware upgrades and urgent orbital resupply” as key investment areas in written testimony before a March 26 hearing with the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee.
So where is the funding for this critical mission area? Breaking Defense first reported in January that the Space Force’s initial fiscal 2026 budget request zeroed out any new funding for in-space mobility and logistics, although it is certainly possible that budget priorities have shifted since that initial request was developed.
In a March 20 interview with Defense One, Saltzman questioned whether technology for the dynamic space operations mission area was mature enough for more dedicated investment.
“This is about timing,” he said. “This is about making sure we evaluate the right technologies and then progress with a program without wasting too much money, because we’ve got a lot of priorities right now.”
In another interview on March 26 with the Mitchell Institute, Saltzman expressed optimism for how on-orbit assembly and manufacturing capabilities could help create a more resilient space architecture at a lower cost.
But in an era of limited resources, “I’m more of a cheerleader in that regard than I am funding those efforts,” he said.
To be clear, the Space Force maintains the smallest budget of all the services, and has to rack and stack a broad range of capability priorities in the next budget cycle and with the new Trump administration in office. But it is pushing to increase its funding to meet the growing demands of operating in a contested domain, Saltzman said.
Shaw, who retired from the Space Force in November 2023, told Aviation Week that there is often a policy pause or lag between administrations, as a new position and direction are established. But he expressed optimism that Trump 2.0 will minimize that usual lag “and move out swiftly to keep pace with our adversaries,” he said March 26. After all, Trump did establish the Space Force during his first term.
The service has several ongoing experiments related to on-orbit logistics and mobility, with companies including Northrop Grumman, Orbit Fab and Astroscale US to demonstrate satellite refueling interfaces and spacecraft. It is also using existing assets, like the Boeing-built X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, to experiment with more dynamic maneuvering capabilities.
Shaw said he would expect the Space Force to become “more demanding” of the commercial sector, “to provide not only mature technology demonstrations, but also minimum viable product operational capabilities” related to refueling, on-orbit assembly, or on-orbit replenishment of fuel and other consumables, as well as develop open, simple refueling and docking interface standards.
“All of these will be the building blocks of an on-orbit logistics infrastructure that will increase space mobility and enable dynamic space operations,” he said.
In 2022, the Biden administration released the “In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing National Strategy,” a document that appears to have been removed from the White House’s archives around the time of President Trump’s second inauguration, according to website snapshots made by the nonprofit Internet Archive. The document laid out key directives to support commercial activities for satellite servicing and life extension on orbit.
When—or if—that strategy is reinstated or updated, it may shed more light on the U.S. government’s plans for this critical technology area.
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