CUI

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Space plays a critical role in American security and prosperity, and it is essential to the Departmentof Defense. Our men and women in harm’s way rely on space-based services every single day to
execute their missions. As the Department continues to prioritize the resilience of our national
security space architecture in the face of new threats, we owe it to the Joint Force and the American
people to leverage all tools available. The rapidly growing commercial space sector, highlighted
in the 2022 National Defense Strategy, presents an opportunity for the Department that we cannotoverlook.
The 2024 DoD Commercial Space Integration Strategy, the first for the Department, provides myvision for prioritizing and aligning efforts to integrate commercial solutions into our national
security space architecture. It outlines the foundational principles, priorities, and approaches toguide the Department in this effort to enhance space mission assurance across the spectrum ofconflict.
Realizing this vision is a task for every space stakeholder across the Department. Integrating
commercial solutions, as opposed to merely augmenting existing government systems, will requirea shift in approach within the Department. Leaders at all levels need to be aware of and work toeliminate the structural, procedural, and cultural barriers to overcoming legacy practices andpreconceived notions of how the commercial sector can support national security. Only byproactively integrating commercial solutions can the Department be positioned to leverage themin crisis or conflict.
I am confident that, together, we will seize this moment to support integrated deterrence andcontribute to a safe, secure, stable, and sustainable space domain.

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CUII. INTRODUCTION
The commercial space sector’s innovative capabilities, scalable production, and rapid technology
refresh rates provide pathways to enhance the resilience of national security space architectures andstrengthen deterrence. This DoD Commercial Space Integration Strategy, in line with the National
Security Strategy and the 2022 National Defense Strategy, seeks to align Department efforts anddrive more effective integration of commercial space solutions into national security spacearchitectures. Such integration will help deny adversaries the benefits of attacks against nationalsecurity space systems and contribute to a safe, secure, stable, and sustainable space domain.
Deeper integration of commercial space solutions represents a conceptual shift away from legacy
practices in which the Department has relied on bespoke, DoD-specific capabilities and limited theuse of commercial solutions. Given the expansion of the commercial space sector and theproliferation of space capabilities, the Department will benefit by making commercial solutions
integral—and not just supplementary—to national security space architectures.
The Department has successfully integrated commercial solutions in other domains for a limited
number of mission areas. In the air and maritime domains, the U.S. Government establishedcontractual mechanisms through the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) and the Voluntary Intermodal
Sealift Agreement (VISA), respectively, to ensure logistics support from commercial operators duringcrises. The Department should develop mechanisms that similarly enable integration of commercial
space in order to build resilience across the full range of space mission areas.
There is inherent risk in commercial space integration. Purchasing commercial solutions instead ofdesigning purpose-built government systems may present trade-offs between the speed of fielding acapability and the security of that system. But the Department also recognizes there is risk in notintegrating commercial solutions and in failing to capitalize on the commercial sector's technologicalinnovation and speed. To integrate commercial space solutions, the Department will work withcommercial entities to mitigate risk as necessary and accept risk where appropriate.
This strategy identifies four top-level priorities that the Department will pursue to maximize thebenefits of integrating commercial space solutions. First, we will ensure access to commercial spacesolutions across the spectrum of conflict. Second, we will achieve integration prior to crisis. Third, wewill establish security conditions that promote integration. Fourth, we will support the developmentof new commercial space solutions.
For the purposes of this strategy, the “commercial sector” refers to individuals, companies, andorganizations that produce solutions for commercial markets, that bear a significant portion of theinvestment risk and responsibility, that operate in accordance with commercial market incentives forcontrolling costs and optimizing return on investment, and that have the legal capacity to offer thosesolutions. “Commercial space solutions” refers to systems, capabilities, or services offered by thecommercial sector. “Commercial integration” refers to the incorporation of commercial spacesolutions into U.S. defense planning, operations, missions, and architectures.

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II. PRINCIPLESThe Department will adhere to four foundational principles to guide its decision making to ensure thatcommercial solutions are integrated into national security space architectures in an effective,
sustainable, and strategic manner: balance, interoperability, resilience, and responsible conduct.

BALANCEThe Department will seek an appropriate balance of governmentand commercial solutions for each mission area while avoiding
overreliance on any single provider or solution.

INTEROPERABILITY
Military standards and procedures should strengtheninteroperability between government and commercial solutions
without stifling commercial sector innovation, speed, or scale.
Wherever appropriate, the Department will consider adopting
commercial standards and interfaces for future purpose-built
systems to facilitate commercial integration.

RESILIENCE
The Department will prioritize resilience in its national securityarchitectures. Integrating commercial space solutions will
strengthen resilience by increasing the number of commercial
providers, diversifying supply chains, and expanding the variety
and number of solutions the Department can employ. Commercial
solutions leveraged by the Department must be resilient
themselves, particularly against cyber threats.

RESPONSIBLE CONDUCTThe Department will continue to act in accordance withinternational norms and standards and its Tenets of Responsible
Behavior in Space. As always, the Department will also uphold its
longstanding commitment to ethical conduct in working with thecommercial sector.

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III. PRIORITIES & APPROACHESThe Department will integrate commercial space solutions to enhance space mission assurance
across the spectrum of conflict. Integration efforts will promote a resilient space architecture tosupport the Joint Force across all domains. To maximize the potential benefits of integrating
commercial solutions, the Department will pursue four key priorities: (1) Ensure access to commercialspace solutions across the spectrum of conflict; (2) Achieve integration of commercial space solutions
prior to crisis; (3) Establish security conditions for integration of commercial space solutions; and(4) Support the development of new commercial space solutions for use by the Joint Force.
1. Ensure Access to Commercial Solutions Across the Spectrum of Conflict: The Department will have fullconfidence that commercial solutions will be available when needed. This includes being able tosurge commercial capacity to meet military requirements and capability needs across thespectrum of conflict.
a. Approach: The Department will use contracts and other agreements as the formal
mechanisms to ensure access to commercial solutions across the spectrum of conflictand mission areas. Contracts and other agreements will address the cyber, data, andsupply chain security requirements that commercial entities will need to meet to workwith the Department. As necessary, contracts will enable prioritization of Department
requirements and capability needs over other commercial clients in specific situations.
2. Achieve Integration Prior to Crisis: To seamlessly utilize integrated commercial space solutions
during crisis and conflict, the Department will integrate solutions during peacetime. This
integration of commercial space solutions will extend to planning and training activities andsupport day-to-day operations. The Department will continue to work with the Intelligence
Community, allies, and partners to integrate commercial solutions into shared architectures.
a. Approach: The Department will incorporate commercial space solutions into wargames,
tabletop exercises, and training exercises to test technology and to develop and honetactics and concepts. Robust relationships between the Department and commercialentities will facilitate mutual understanding of interests, intent, and solutions. These linesof communication will also help commercial capabilities employ robust cyber, data, andsupply chain security measures to mitigate risk and vulnerabilities, follow and bolster
norms for space operations, and share information reciprocally with the Department.
Regular engagement with the commercial sector will improve the Department’s
understanding of available commercial solutions and the opportunities for integration.
3. Establish the Security Conditions to Integrate Commercial Space Solutions: The Department will promotea safe and secure operational space domain and, as appropriate, mitigate risks to commercial
space actors inherent in supporting national security space operations.
a. Approach: The Department will leverage a range of tools across all domains to deter
aggression against and defeat threats to U.S. national security space interests, including
all space segments and, where appropriate, commercial space solutions. In appropriate
circumstances, the use of military force to protect and defend commercial assets could
be directed. In general, the Department will promote the security of commercial solutions
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through three lines of effort: norms and standards, threat information sharing, andfinancial protection mechanisms.
i. Norms and Standards: The Department will promote norms and standards to foster asafe operating environment for all space actors. Internationally agreed upon norms andstandards create a shared understanding of what constitutes responsible behavior andreduce the risk of misperceptions and miscalculations that could lead to crisis andconflict. The Department’s Tenets of Responsible Behavior in Space provide a baselinefrom which to operate and to develop new best practices, norms, and standards for U.S.
national security space operations as necessary. The Department will continue tosupport efforts by the Department of State in multilateral fora to develop and implement
best practices, standards, and norms of behavior for the space domain.
ii. Threat Information Sharing: The Department will advance threat information sharing
with the commercial space sector. Timely dissemination of actionable threat
information is critical to the commercial sector’s ability to increase resilience andmitigate threats, and it is therefore foundational to successful integration of commercial
space solutions. Information sharing will include space domain awareness andcybersecurity threat information at multiple classification levels. The Department will
work to mitigate barriers including overclassification, clearance processes, and cleared
facility access to establish scalable procedures for unclassified communications withthe commercial space sector.
iii. Financial Protection: Commercial entities employing solutions in support of military
operations accept risk. Traditional commercial insurance, commercial war-risk
insurance, U.S. Government-provided insurance, and indemnification as defined instatute are all possible financial protection tools to mitigate that risk. Definitions ofthese financial protection tools can be found in Annex A. U.S. government provided
insurance is statutorily available for the air and maritime domains but is not yet
available for the space domain. The Department will evaluate gaps in protection fromcommercial insurance providers, the conditions under which U.S. Government-provided
insurance would be needed for the space domain, and whether those conditions havebeen met.
4. Support the Development of New Commercial Space Solutions for Use by the Joint Force: Harnessing thespeed and innovation of the commercial space sector is not only a function of integrating existing
commercial solutions but also ensuring that emerging solutions can be brought to market. TheDepartment will continue to seek out emerging technologies in the commercial space sector thathave the potential to support the Joint Force.

a. Approach: The Department will use the full range of available financial, contractual, andpolicy tools to rapidly field and scale commercial technology, attract private investment
and commercial lenders, assist in clearing regulatory hurdles where national security
imperatives are present, and ultimately bring new commercial solutions to the warfighterat speed. These efforts will leverage the Department’s expertise in critical technologies,capability gaps, and U.S. government research and development efforts. In keeping withthe Department’s commitment to ethical conduct, the Department will work to protect theintellectual property of integrated commercial solutions.

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IV. MISSION AREAS
There are currently 13 mission areas for national security space: Combat Power Projection; Commandand Control (C2); Cyberspace Operations; Electromagnetic Warfare (EW); Environmental Monitoring(EM); Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR); Missile Warning (MW); Nuclear
Detonation Detection (NUDET); Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT); Space Access, Mobility, andLogistics (SAML); Satellite Communications (SATCOM); Space Domain Awareness (SDA); andSpacecraft Operations. Each mission area is composed of a range of distinct operational andtechnical functions that must be performed to provide capability to the Joint Force.
The Department will seek to integrate commercial space solutions for all mission areas where thesesolutions can enhance resilience and add capability without imposing unacceptable risk, while also
maintaining U.S. Government responsibility for certain critical national security functions. Theintegration of commercial space solutions will vary by mission area based on assessments of thefunctions that must be performed, the commercial solutions available to perform those functions,and the ability of those commercial solutions to meet the appropriate requirements and capability
needs for mission assurance.
The Department will adopt three categories for organizing the integration of commercial spacesolutions into national security space architectures. Mission areas may shift between categories overtime as commercial space capabilities mature and military requirements and capability needs evolve.
However, nothing about the categorization precludes integrating commercial space solutions asopportunities arise for any mission area. The Department will regularly evaluate the national security
space mission areas and their corresponding functions to identify opportunities for commercial spacesolutions to contribute. Below is a description of each category and the mission areas that currently
fall within them.
►►►Government Primary Mission Areas: Within this category, a preponderance of functions mustbe performed by the government, while a select few could be performed by the commercialsector. Government systems supporting these mission areas generally have significant
technological and functional differences when compared to commercial sector offerings andcontain features that may lack a definitive commercial market. The following mission areas
currently fall under the Government Primary category: combat power projection; C2 (toinclude NC3); EW; NUDET; MW; and PNT.
Hybrid Mission Areas: Within this category, some functions must be performed by thegovernment while others could be performed by the commercial sector. The commercial
sector is well suited to perform functions within these mission areas, and the Department
will integrate a mix of government and commercial owned and operated systems. The
following mission areas currently fall under the Hybrid category: cyberspace operations;
SATCOM; spacecraft operations; ISR; SDA; and EM.
Commercial Primary Mission Areas: Within this category, the preponderance of functions
within these mission areas could be performed by the commercial sector, while a limited
number of functions must be performed by the government. Commercial space solutions
performing functions within these mission areas have demonstrated technological maturity
and met the Department’s requirements and capability needs for mission assurance. The
following mission area currently falls under this category: SAML. Emerging commerciallydeveloped mission areas, such as in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM),
may provide additional opportunities in the future to support the warfighter.
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V. CONCLUSION
The Department’s ability to integrate commercial space solutions into national security space
missions and architectures is critical to enhancing U.S. resilience and strengthening deterrence inthe 21st century. This integration will help maintain our technological edge, deny adversaries thebenefits of attacks against national security space systems, and contribute to a safe, secure, stable,
and sustainable space domain. This DoD Commercial Space Integration Strategy provides strategic
guidance to the Department to ensure it can fully seize the available opportunities to work withcommercial entities to achieve these ends.

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ANNEX A FINANCIAL PROTECTIONS AGAINST RISKS
Current possibilities for financial protection are described below, and have the following meanings
solely for this Department of Defense Commercial Space Integration Strategy:
Commercial Insurance: Insurance is a contract, referred to as a policy, in which a policyholder receives
financial protection or reimbursement against losses from an insurance company. Space companies
primarily receive property and casualty protection through commercial insurance. Space commercial
insurance can cover launch, satellite operations, or other liability risk factors for a commercial
enterprise. War-risk is typically excluded from coverage.
Commercial War-Risk Insurance: War-risk insurance is coverage provided for losses resulting fromevents such as war, invasions, insurrections, riots, strikes, and terrorism. War-risk insurance isgenerally available through a supplemental clause to an existing standard policy or as a separate
policy. Supplemental clauses are generally limited in scope.
U.S. Government-Provided Insurance: An arrangement whereby the U.S. Government offers certain levels
of insurance, including against war risks, that are typically excluded from coverage on commercial
insurance policies or for which commercial coverage is not available on reasonable terms. Such
insurance is intended to fill a well understood gap in commercially available insurance. The U.S.
Government provides insurance in both air and maritime domains, pursuant to statutory authority.
Statutory authority for this coverage does not currently extend to the space domain. New statutory
authority would be required to extend war-risk insurance coverage to commercial space entities.
Indemnification: The payment for damages suffered as a result of performance of a contract in supportof the Department of Defense pursuant to Public Law 85-804. The damage must be caused by“unusually hazardous or nuclear risks.” Indemnification use is approved on a case-by-case basis andis only compensated to the extent the claim, loss, or damage is not otherwise covered. Within theDepartment of the Air Force, indemnification has been used mostly with respect to space launch andnuclear activities given the unique risks associated with those activities.

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