United States Government Accountability Office 

MILITARY SPACE 

SYSTEMS 

DOD’s Use of 

Commercial Satellites 

to Host Defense 

Payloads Would 

Benefit from 

Centralizing Data 

Report to the Armed Services 

Committee, House of Representatives 

July 2018 

GAO-18-493 
United States Government Accountability Office

Highlights of GAO-18-493, a report to the 

Committee on Armed Services, House of 

Representatives

July 2018

MILITARY SPACE SYSTEMS

DOD’s Use of Commercial Satellites to Host Defense

Payloads Would Benefit from Centralizing Data

What GAO Found

GAO and others have found that using commercial satellites to host government 

sensors or communications packages—called payloads—may be one way DOD 

can achieve on-orbit capability faster and more affordably. Using hosted 

payloads may also help facilitate a proliferation of payloads on orbit, making it 

more difficult for an adversary to defeat a capability. Since 2009, DOD has used

three commercially hosted payloads, with three more missions planned or 

underway through 2022 (see figure below).

DOD Hosted Payload Missions from 2009 to 2022

DOD estimates that it has achieved cost savings of several hundred million 

dollars from using commercially hosted payloads to date, and expects to realize 

additional savings and deliver faster capabilities on orbit from planned missions. 

Cost savings can result from sharing development, launch, and ground system 

costs with the commercial host company. 

Among the factors that affect DOD’s use of hosted payloads are 

• a perception among some DOD officials that matching government payloads 

to commercial satellites is too difficult; and 

• limited, fragmented knowledge on how to mitigate various challenges 

GAO found that further opportunities to use hosted payloads may emerge as 

DOD plans new and follow-on space systems in the coming years. However, 

DOD’s knowledge on using hosted payloads is fragmented, in part because 

programs are not required to share information. In 2011, the Air Force created a 

Hosted Payload Office to provide expertise and other tools to facilitate matching 

government payloads with commercial hosts. However, GAO found that DOD 

programs using hosted payloads are not required and generally do not provide 

cost and technical data, or lessons learned, to the Hosted Payload Office, or 

another central office for analysis. Requiring programs that use hosted payloads 

agency-wide to provide this information to a central location would better position 

DOD to make informed decisions when considering acquisition approaches for 

upcoming space system designs. View GAO-18-493. For more information, 

contact Cristina Chaplain at (202) 512-4841 or 

chaplainc@gao.gov.

Why GAO Did This Study

Each year, DOD spends billions of 

dollars to develop, produce, and field

large, complex satellites. For such 

satellite systems, a single adversary 

attack or on-orbit failure can result in 

the loss of billions of dollars of 

investment and significant loss of vital 

capabilities. As DOD plans new space 

systems and addresses an 

increasingly contested space 

environment, it has the opportunity to 

consider different acquisition 

approaches. One such approach is to 

integrate a government sensor or 

payload onto a commercial host 

satellite. 

House Armed Services Committee

report 115-200, accompanying a bill for 

the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense 

Authorization Act, included a provision 

for GAO to review DOD’s use of 

commercially hosted payloads. This 

report (1) determines the extent to 

which DOD uses commercially hosted 

payloads and (2) describes and 

assesses factors that affect their use. 

GAO reviewed DOD policies, 

documentation, and planning

documents, and interviewed a wide 

range of DOD and civil government

officials, and commercial stakeholders.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that DOD require 

programs using commercially hosted 

payloads to contribute resulting data to 

a central location. In implementing this 

recommendation, DOD should assess 

whether the Air Force’s Hosted 

Payload Office is the appropriate 

location to collect and analyze the 

data. DOD concurred with the

recommendation.
Page i GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

Letter 1

Background 3

DOD Has Used Commercially Hosted Payloads Three Times and 

Three More Missions Are Planned or Underway 9

Logistical and Data Challenges Contribute to Limited Use of 

Hosted Payloads 14

Conclusions 23

Recommendation for Executive Action 23

Agency Comments 23

Appendix I Civil and Other Agency Commercially Hosted Payloads 25

Appendix II Comments from the Department of Defense 27

Appendix III GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 29

Tables

Table 1: Department of Defense (DOD) Payloads on Commercial 

Host Satellites 2009-2017 11

Table 2: Department of Defense (DOD) Plans for Future Use of 

Commercial Host Satellites 12

Table 3: Department of Defense (DOD) Analyses of Alternatives 

for Upcoming Space System Architectures 14

Table 4: Civil and Other Agency Use of Commercial Host 

Satellites 25

Figure

Figure 1: DOD Fielded and Planned Commercially Hosted 

Payloads from 2009 to 2022 10

Contents
Page ii GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

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Page 1 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

441 G St. N.W.

Washington, DC 20548

July 30, 2018

The Honorable Mac Thornberry

Chairman

The Honorable Adam Smith

Ranking Member

Committee on Armed Services

House of Representatives

Each year, the Department of Defense (DOD) spends billions of dollars to 

develop, produce, and field its space systems. These systems provide the 

government with critical intelligence information, communication and 

navigation methods, weather data, and other capabilities vital to military 

and civilian agencies and commercial industry. As satellites have become 

more complex, they have required larger investments of money and time 

to develop, produce, and launch. Some satellites, which have taken more 

than a decade to develop due in part to their size and complexity, contain 

technologies that are obsolete by the time they are launched. Additionally, 

in recent years, threats to DOD space systems have emerged, including 

anti-satellite weapons, communications jamming, and increased 

environmental hazards in space, such as orbital debris. A single 

adversary attack, on-orbit problem, or launch failure of a DOD satellite 

can result in the loss of billions of dollars of investment and a significant 

loss of capability.

DOD is currently planning new and follow-on space systems for some of 

its major space programs that are in production or have been fielded. As 

such, program officials have the opportunity to consider fresh approaches 

for acquiring space-based capabilities that may be more cost-effective, 

place technologies on orbit more quickly, and potentially offer added 

resilience and augmented capabilities to allay emerging threats. Both the 

2010 National Space Policy and the 2013 National Space Transportation 

Policy call on federal agencies to explore the use of inventive, 

nontraditional arrangements for acquiring commercial space services.1

One such arrangement is to place a government payload—such as a 

sensor or a communications package—on a commercial host satellite. In 

addition to launching with the host satellite, the hosted payload uses 

 1

Executive Office of the President of the United States, National Space Policy of the 

United States of America (June 28, 2010), and National Space Transportation Policy

(November 21, 2013).

Letter
Page 2 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

available resources from the host satellite, such as power and 

communication systems. The hosted payload approach allows both the 

government and commercial entity to capitalize on shared development 

and launch costs, potentially reducing overall costs for both. The House 

Armed Services Committee report 115-200 accompanying a bill for the 

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 contained a 

provision for GAO to review DOD’s use of hosted payloads. This report 

(1) determines the extent to which DOD uses commercially hosted 

payloads and (2) describes factors that affect DOD’s use of hosted 

payloads and assesses how DOD is addressing them.

To determine the extent to which DOD uses commercially hosted 

payloads, we reviewed DOD documentation of prior, current, and future 

plans to use hosted payloads, including budget documentation and 

informational briefings. We analyzed program office planning documents, 

including management directives, hosted payload user guides, lessons 

learned, and analyses of alternatives study guidance. We also studied 

tools used to identify hosted payload opportunities and program contract 

documents, including the 2014 Hosted Payload Solutions multiple award 

indefinite delivery indefinite quantity vehicle. Because our review focused 

on commercially hosted payloads, we did not assess DOD’s efforts to 

host its payloads on other government agency satellites. We interviewed 

DOD officials from the offices of the Under Secretaries of Defense for 

Acquisition and Sustainment, and Policy; the Office of the Secretary of 

Defense Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation; DOD’s Chief 

Information Officer; Missile Defense Agency; the Navy’s Program 

Executive Office for Space Systems and Space and Naval Warfare 

Systems Command; and research and development organizations, 

including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Naval 

Research Laboratory. Additionally, we conducted interviews with Air 

Force personnel from Air Force Space Command, the Space and Missile 

Systems Center’s Hosted Payload Office (HPO), and the Space Test 

Program.

To describe and assess the factors that affect DOD’s use of commercially 

hosted payloads, we examined applicable policies, strategy documents 

and briefings, including the 2010 National Space Policy, 2013 National 

Space Transportation Policy, and the Air Force’s Space Warfighting 

Construct. To understand logistical, technical, and other considerations 

for using commercially hosted payloads, we reviewed program 

documents on commercially hosted payload arrangements from DOD and 

interviewed the organizations listed above. We also interviewed officials 

in the Departments of Commerce and Transportation, as well as the 
Page 3 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Finally, we 

interviewed a broad range of industry stakeholders, including commercial 

satellite manufacturers and owner/operators, and industry associations—

such as the Satellite Industry Association and the Hosted Payload 

Alliance—to understand perspectives on the factors that affect the use of 

commercially hosted payloads.2 We compared DOD efforts to address 

factors affecting their use of commercially hosted payloads to criteria 

established in our work on strategic sourcing best practices as well as our 

work on duplication, overlap, and fragmentation.3

We conducted this performance audit from July 2017 to July 2018 in 

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 

sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 

findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that 

the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and 

conclusions based on our audit objectives.

DOD defines a hosted payload as an instrument or package of 

equipment—a sensor or communications package, for example—

integrated onto a host satellite, which operates on orbit making use of the 

host satellite’s available resources, including size, weight, power, or 

communications.4 A commercially hosted DOD payload is a DOD payload 

 2

The Satellite Industry Association (SIA) was formed in 1995 by several major US satellite 

companies as a forum to discuss issues and develop industry-wide positions on shared 

business, regulatory, and policy interests. In 2011, a group of satellite operators and 

manufacturers formed a satellite industry alliance called the Hosted Payload Alliance to 

increase awareness of the benefits of hosted government payloads on commercial 

satellites, as well as to facilitate communication between satellite companies and potential 

users.

3 GAO, Strategic Sourcing: Leading Commercial Practices Can Help Federal Agencies 

Increase Savings When Acquiring Services, GAO-13-417 (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 15, 

2013) and 2013 Annual Report: Actions Needed to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and 

Duplication and Achieve Other Financial Benefits, GAO-13-279SP (Washington, D.C.; 

Apr. 9, 2013).

4 Department of the Air Force, Headquarters Space and Missile Systems Center, Program 

Management Directive (PMD) for Space and Missile Systems Center Hosted Payload 

Office (HPO) (Los Angeles, CA: July 2011).

Background

Commercially Hosted 

Payloads
Page 4 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

on a commercial satellite.5 In general, hosted payloads may be either 

experimental or operational. Experimental payloads demonstrate new or 

existing technologies on orbit for potential use on future operational space 

systems. Operational payloads deliver required capabilities to end users. 

Hosted payload arrangements may be unsuitable for some missions. For 

example, some payloads may be too large or need too much power for a 

host satellite to feasibly accommodate, or may require unique satellite 

maneuvers that, if exercised, would negatively affect a host satellite’s 

primary mission. Civil government agencies, like NASA and the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have used or have 

plans to use commercially hosted payloads. For more information on the 

commercially hosted payloads that civil agencies have used or plan to 

use, see appendix I.

We and others have identified potential benefits of using commercially 

hosted payloads to gain space-based capability, such as:

• Cost savings—Commercially hosted payloads may increase 

affordability because the government payload owner pays for only a 

portion of the satellite development and shared launch and ground 

systems costs, rather than for the entire system. Also, smaller, lighter, 

and less complex systems may shorten procurement timelines, 

reduce research and development investment, and reduce risk in 

technology development. Some government agencies have reported 

saving hundreds of millions of dollars to date from using innovative 

arrangements such as hosted payloads.6

• Faster on-orbit capability—Because commercial satellites tend to 

take less time from concept development to launch than DOD 

systems do and have relatively frequent launches, hosting 

government payloads on commercial satellites may achieve on-orbit 

capability more quickly.

• Increased deterrence and resilience—Distributing capabilities 

across more satellites increases the number and diversity of potential 

targets for an adversary and may make it more difficult for an 

 5

A commercial satellite is a satellite owned or operated by a company to provide services, 

such as broadcast television or satellite telephone, to customers.

6

See also GAO-13-279SP. In April 2013, we found that government agencies could 

achieve considerable cost savings on some missions by leveraging commercial satellites 

through innovative mechanisms such as hosted payload arrangements. 

Potential Benefits of Using 

Commercially Hosted 

Payloads
Page 5 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

adversary to decide which assets to attack, serving as a deterrent. 

Additionally, more frequent launches could increase DOD’s ability to 

reconstitute its satellite groups—or constellations—more quickly in 

case of unexpected losses of on-orbit capabilities. Recent strategic 

and policy guidance government-wide and at DOD have stressed the 

need for U.S. space systems to be survivable, or resilient, against 

intentional and unintentional threats—both types of which have 

increased over the past 20 years. Intentional threats can include 

purposeful signal jamming, laser dazzling and blinding of satellite 

sensors, missiles intended to destroy satellites, and ground system 

attacks. Some unintentional threats to satellites are created by the 

harsh space environment itself, like extreme temperature fluctuations 

and radiation, and the growing number of satellites, used rocket parts, 

and other space debris on orbit, which could collide with orbiting 

satellites.

• Continual technology upgrades and industrial base stability—

New technologies may be continually incorporated into space systems 

using hosted payloads, which may be uniquely suited for higher rates 

of production and launches than traditional DOD satellites. Using 

commercial satellites for government payloads could help maintain 

the U.S. commercial space industry’s ongoing technology 

developments by maintaining stable business and incentivizing new 

companies to enter the marketplace. Further, increased production 

may be distributed over multiple contractors—including traditionally 

lower-tier contractors—to foster more competition.

As we reported in October 2014, hosted payloads are among several 

avenues DOD is considering to increase the resilience of its satellites in 

the face of growing threats.7 DOD has been looking at ways to break up 

larger satellites into multiple smaller satellites or payloads after decades 

of building large, complex satellites to meet its space-based 

requirements. The broader concept of breaking up larger satellites into 

smaller ones is known as disaggregation. In 2014, we reported that DOD 

lacked critical knowledge about the concept of disaggregation, including 

how to quantify a broad range of potential effects.8 At the time, for 

example, DOD did not have common measures for resilience, which we 

found is a key consideration in making a choice as to whether to continue 

with a current system architecture or to change it. Recently, senior DOD 

 7

GAO, DOD Space Systems: Additional Knowledge Would Better Support Decisions 

about Disaggregating Large Satellites, GAO-15-7 (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 30, 2014).

8

GAO-15-7.
Page 6 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

officials have also made public statements that indicate a willingness to 

consider innovative acquisition approaches so that acquisition timelines 

can be reduced. For example, in a 2016 strategic intent document, the 

Commander of Air Force Space Command stated that the Air Force 

should seek innovative acquisition approaches that leverage DOD’s 

buying power across the industry.9 Additionally, the Secretary of the Air 

Force stated that the Air Force is exploring more affordable and 

innovative ways to acquire its satellite communication services through 

investments in commercial industry and international partnerships.

Opportunities to match a DOD payload with a commercial host can arise 

in various ways. DOD may first develop a payload and seek to match it 

with a commercial host, DOD may work in tandem with a commercial 

company to develop a payload to be hosted, or commercial companies—

likely the satellite owner, operator, or system integrator—can first identify 

upcoming satellite hosting opportunities to DOD. In each scenario, the 

DOD program (or payload owner) and the commercial host generally 

consider the basic properties of both the payload and host satellite in 

attempting to find a match. These properties—including the size, weight, 

area, power, and required orbital characteristics of the payload and host 

satellite—should be complementary to create an arrangement that is 

mutually compatible for each party, according to Aerospace Corporation 

recommendations and officials we spoke with.10 Specifically, these 

properties include:

• The size of the payload when it is stowed and when it is deployed on 

orbit, including the available area on the host satellite;

• The available weight and mass distribution the host satellite can 

accommodate;

• The available power on the host satellite;

 9

Air Force Space Commander’s Strategic Intent, Headquarters Air Force Space 

Command, Petersen Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, CO (2016).

10Aerospace Corporation, Guidelines for Hosted Payload Integration, Aerospace Report 

Number TOR-2014-02199, June 6, 2014. Aerospace Corporation operates a federally 

funded research and development organization. Federally funded research and 

development centers are sponsored and funded by the government to meet specific longterm research and development needs that cannot be met as effectively by existing inhouse or contractor resources. They are operated, managed, or administered by 

universities, not-for-profit or nonprofit organizations, or industrial firms.

Matching Payloads with 

Commercial Host 

Satellites
Page 7 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

• The thermal requirements of the payload and corresponding capability 

of the host satellite;

• The requirements to limit electromagnetic interference—disturbances 

that affect electrical circuits on the payload and host satellite;

• The available command, telemetry, and mission data rate 

requirements of the payload and corresponding capability of the host 

satellite;11

• The compatibility of interfaces between the payload and host satellite;

• The pointing accuracy and stability of the host satellite; and

• The necessary orbits, including altitude and inclination.12

Other considerations when matching a DOD payload with a host satellite 

are the compatibility of radio frequency spectrum (spectrum) needs 

between the payload and host, and the satellite’s intended orbital 

location.13 Spectrum is a natural resource used to provide essential 

government functions and missions ranging from national defense, 

weather services, and aviation communication, to commercial services 

such as television broadcasting and mobile voice and data 

communications. The frequencies, or frequency bands, of spectrum have 

different characteristics that make them more or less suitable for specific 

purposes, such as the ability to carry data long distances or penetrate 

physical obstacles. Each frequency band has a limited capacity to carry 

information. This means that multiple users operating at approximately 

the same frequency, location, and time have the potential to interfere with 

one another. Harmful interference occurs when two communication 

signals are either at the same frequencies or close to the same 

frequencies in the same vicinity, a situation that can lead to degradation 

of a device’s operation or service. As such, a payload or satellite’s 

 11As used here, data rate is the speed at which data are communicated between the 

payload or host satellite and a ground terminal.

12Satellites travel around the Earth at various altitudes and angles (or inclinations) relative 

to the equator. For example, low Earth orbit is the region of space up to an altitude of 

approximately 1,500 miles. Satellites in this orbit typically have low (along the equator) to 

high (over the Earth’s polar regions) inclinations. Geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) is a 

circular orbit at an altitude of 22,300 miles with a low inclination.

13Radio frequency spectrum is a scarce natural resource of electromagnetic radiation lying 

between the frequencies of 3 kilohertz and 300 gigahertz. The radio waves carry 

information in ranges of frequencies called “bands”. 
Page 8 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

specific placement in any given orbit could potentially interfere with a 

neighboring payload or satellite in the same orbit.

In the United States, the National Telecommunications and Information 

Administration (NTIA) of the Department of Commerce is responsible for 

establishing policy on regulating federal government spectrum use and 

assigning spectrum bands to government agencies. The Federal 

Communications Commission (FCC) allocates spectrum and assigns 

licenses for various consumer and commercial purposes. Additionally, all 

government and commercial satellite programs must apply for approval to 

operate at a given orbital location using a given band of spectrum 

internationally through the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). 

The ITU is an agency of the United Nations and coordinates spectrum 

standards and regulations.

In 2011, the Air Force created the Space and Missile Systems Center’s 

(SMC) Hosted Payload Office (HPO) to provide acquisition architectures 

that achieve on-orbit capability more quickly and affordably. The HPO 

uses various resources and capabilities to meet its objectives:

• Hosted Payload Solutions Contract: In 2014, SMC established the 

Hosted Payload Solutions (HOPS) multiple award indefinite delivery 

indefinite quantity (IDIQ) vehicle.14 According to HPO documents, 

SMC established the contract—available to all DOD and civil 

agencies—to streamline commercially hosted payload arrangements 

by selecting a pool of commercial vendors that government payload 

owners can use to access space on commercial host satellites. 

Programs do not have to use HOPS, however, and may contract with 

commercial companies directly. The HOPS vehicle includes 14 

vendors across the commercial satellite industry. SMC awarded task 

orders for studies to each of the vendors with a contract to gather 

information on potential host opportunities, orbits and launch 

schedules, cost estimates for hosting fees, and existing host satellite 

interfaces.

• Feasibility Studies: Using the information it gathered from the 14 

vendor studies, the HPO stated that it built a database to provide 

information on potential satellite hosts and the suitability of certain 

 14An Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract provides for an indefinite 

quantity, within stated limits, of supplies or services during a fixed period. The government 

places orders for individual requirements. FAR § 16.504(a).

The Air Force’s Hosted 

Payload Office
Page 9 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

payloads for host opportunities, including cost estimates. The HPO 

stated that it can use this information to assess the feasibility of a 

hosted payload opportunity for interested SMC space programs. The 

HPO also conducts feasibility studies for interested programs based 

on publicly available information and from industry requests for 

information.

• Hosted Payload Interface Design guidelines: The HPO published 

hosted payload interface design guidelines to provide technical 

recommendations for hosted payload developers. According to HPO 

officials, the intent of these guidelines is to reduce integration costs 

and improve the host-ability of all hosted payloads.

• Hosted Payload Data Interface Unit: The HPO is developing a 

secure hosted payload data interface unit to protect payload data from 

unauthorized access by the host. Following its release of draft 

documentation to industry stakeholders in March 2018, the HPO is 

currently integrating National Security Agency requirements into its 

request for data interface unit prototype proposals. According to HPO 

officials, the office plans to issue a request for prototype proposals in 

May 2018, integrate a data interface unit and payload in 2020, and 

launch the integrated system in 2022.

• Hosted Payload Expertise: The HPO provides general advice and 

expertise to programs in the form of hosted payload architectural 

studies, input on acquisition planning and strategy documents, and 

other research efforts, according to the office.

Since 2009, DOD has launched three experimental payloads on 

commercial host satellites and plans to conduct three more missions 

through 2022, as shown in figure 1.15 DOD estimates that it has achieved 

cost savings of several hundred million dollars from these experimental 

payloads. According to DOD officials, DOD expects to realize additional 

cost savings and be able to place capabilities on orbit more quickly from 

several hosted payload efforts that are planned or underway. 

Opportunities for additional hosted payload efforts may arise in the near 

term amid DOD planning for upcoming and follow-on space systems.

 15In 2009, for the first time, DOD used a commercial satellite to host its Internet Protocol 

Routing in Space (IRIS). See table 1 for more information on this effort.

DOD Has Used 

Commercially Hosted 

Payloads Three 

Times and Three 

More Missions Are 

Planned or Underway
Page 10 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

Figure 1: DOD Fielded and Planned Commercially Hosted Payloads from 2009 to 2022

Since 2009, DOD has placed experimental payloads—intended to test or 

demonstrate an on-orbit capability—for three programs on commercial 

host satellites. Several officials within DOD told us that experimental 

payloads tend to be smaller, less expensive, and their missions more risktolerant than traditional operational DOD payloads. In these ways, they 

said experimental payloads are better-suited to hosting arrangements 

than operational DOD payloads. The Air Force has not yet used the 

HOPS multiple award IDIQ vehicle—which was awarded to facilitate 

commercially hosted payload arrangements—to match a government 

payload with a commercial host. The HPO told us that, in 2019, NASA 

and NOAA will be the first agencies to use the HOPS vehicle to find a 

host satellite for two of their payloads. Table 1 describes the three 

experimental payloads hosted on commercial satellites to date. For more 

information on civilian agencies that use or plan to use commercially 

hosted payloads, see appendix I.16

 16We identified that, in addition to DOD and civil agencies, the National Reconnaissance 

Office (NRO) has used commercial satellites to host experimental payloads for research 

purposes. According to the NRO, the primary lesson learned is that the NRO experiment 

should be non-obtrusive with the commercial mission.

DOD Has Used 

Commercial Satellites to 

Host Three Experimental 

Payloads
Page 11 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

Table 1: Department of Defense (DOD) Payloads on Commercial Host Satellites 2009-2017

Year Name Description

2009 Internet Protocol Routing in Space (IRIS)

Joint Capability Technology Demonstration 

This payload demonstrated integrated communication between landand space-based internet nodes for the U.S. Strategic Command and 

Allied Forces.

2011 Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload 

(CHIRP)

This program tested new infrared sensor technology and demonstrated 

a successful hosted payload arrangement between government and 

commercial stakeholders.

2017 Responsive Environmental Assessment 

Commercially Hosted (REACH)

Air Force documents state that REACH payloads provide extensive test 

data on space radiation, rapidly detect, warn, and characterize 

disturbances in the space environment, and address commercial and 

government methods for collection and distributing this data. REACH 

payloads will also test resilient space architectures by launching on 

multiple spacecraft to multiple locations for global coverage.

Source: GAO analysis of Department of Defense information. | GAO-18-493

Air Force officials told us that using commercial host satellites for their 

experimental payloads has saved several hundred million dollars across 

these programs and shortened timelines for launching payloads into 

space. For example, the HPO estimated that the Air Force saved nearly 

$300 million by using a commercial host satellite for its Commercially 

Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP), as compared to acquiring the same 

capability using a dedicated, free-flying satellite.17 In addition, Air Force 

officials estimated that using commercial host satellites for its Responsive 

Environmental Assessment Commercially Hosted (REACH) effort saved 

the Air Force approximately $230 million. The REACH effort consists of 

over 30 payloads hosted on multiple satellites. Further, because of the 

commercial host’s launch schedule, the Air Force achieved its on-orbit 

capability sooner than if it had acquired free-flying satellites.18 In April 

2013, we found that the Internet Protocol Routing in Space (IRIS) 

payload, launched in 2009, was a commercially hosted payload pilot 

mission that would provide internet routing onboard the satellite, 

eliminating the need for costs associated with certain ground 

infrastructure.19

 17A free-flying satellite is a standalone satellite for which an agency pays all costs 

associated with development, integration, launch, and operations.

18As mentioned above, we did not review DOD’s use of hosted payloads on other 

government satellites; therefore, we use free-flying satellites as the baseline for cost 

comparison.

19GAO-13-279SP.
Page 12 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

DOD and Air Force officials told us they are planning to pursue 

commercially hosted payloads for three programs in the coming decade 

to achieve cost savings and on-orbit capability more quickly. In each 

case, officials said they have identified cost and schedule benefits for 

their respective programs. For example, the Missile Defense Agency 

(MDA) stated that it expects to save approximately $700 million compared 

to the cost of traditional, free-flying satellites by acquiring its Spacebased 

Kill Assessment capability as payloads on commercial host satellites, and 

expects to achieve on-orbit capability years earlier than if it had acquired 

dedicated satellites for these payloads. Additionally, a program official 

from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) told us 

DARPA plans to use a commercially hosted payload for the Phoenix 

Payload Orbital Delivery effort to test more affordable ways to access 

space. Moreover, Air Force officials told us they expect to save $900 

million over free-flying satellites by using two Space Norway satellites to 

fly an Enhanced Polar System Recapitalization payload. Space Norway 

plans to launch its satellites in 2022, which the Air Force expects will 

allow it to meet its need for DOD’s required capability. See table 2 for 

additional details on DOD’s planned hosted payloads.

Table 2: Department of Defense (DOD) Plans for Future Use of Commercial Host Satellites 

Year Name Description

2018 Spacebased Kill Assessment (SKA) We found in 2017 that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) planned to use SKA 

as an experimental system to determine whether an incoming, lethal enemy 

ballistic missile was successfully intercepted.a MDA may also use SKA to 

provide a limited operational capability. MDA launched the first of its network 

of sensor payloads hosted onboard commercial satellites in 2017 and plans to 

finish launching the payloads in 2018. In addition to ensuring the program is 

more affordable, agency officials stated that MDA is also using the program as 

a pathfinder to identify cost-saving measures for future space-based 

capabilities the agency may pursue to make fielding assets in space more 

affordable.

2018 Phoenix Program: Payload Orbital 

Delivery (POD) system

According to documentation from the Defense Advanced Research Projects 

Agency (DARPA), it plans to reduce the cost of space-based systems by 

developing and demonstrating new satellite assembly architectures and 

delivery systems through its Phoenix program. Its POD system is a 

standardized mechanism intended to safely carry a wide variety of payloads to 

geosynchronous Earth orbit aboard commercial communications satellites. 

PODs are designed to help take advantage of the frequency of commercial 

satellite launches and associated hosted payload opportunities, to enable 

faster and lower-cost delivery.

DOD Has Three 

Commercially Hosted 

Payload Efforts Planned or 

Underway
Page 13 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

Year Name Description

2022 Enhanced Polar System 

Recapitalization (EPS-R)

According to documentation and Air Force officials, the Air Force’s EPS-R 

program plans to provide continuous, protected communications to tactical and 

strategic warfighters in the North Polar Region in both benign and contested 

environments. The program plans to develop and acquire two payloads to be 

launched on Space Norway satellites (Space Norway is a governmentally 

owned company). This mission may be particularly important as it marks the 

first DOD payload intended for operational use on a commercial host.

Source: GAO analysis of Department of Defense information. | GAO-18-493

a

GAO, Missile Defense: Some Progress Delivering Capabilities, but Challenges with Testing 

Transparency and Requirements Development Need to Be Addressed, GAO-17-381 (Washington, 

D.C.: May 30, 2017).

Additional opportunities for commercially hosted payloads may be 

forthcoming as DOD develops requirements and designs for new and 

follow-on space programs. DOD has been analyzing various alternatives 

to explore possible future space system designs and acquisition 

strategies for several of its upcoming follow-on programs. In these cases, 

the analysis of alternatives (AOA) study guidance, set forth by DOD’s 

Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, included direction for 

the studies to consider new approaches for acquiring space capabilities.20

For example, AOA guidance directed study teams to include hosted 

payloads or other disaggregated designs, and commercial innovations in 

technology and acquisition to meet some space mission requirements. 

Table 3 provides further details of recently completed and ongoing AOAs 

to study new designs—or architectures—for upcoming follow-on satellite 

systems.

 20An analysis of alternatives (AOA) is a review in the DOD acquisition process that 

compares the operational effectiveness, suitability, and lifecycle cost of solutions to satisfy 

documented capability needs. Factors to be considered in the AOA include effectiveness, 

cost, schedule, concepts of operations, and overall risk of each alternative. The AOA is 

normally conducted during the Materiel Solution Analysis phase of the Defense 

Acquisition System to support a Milestone A decision to begin technology development for 

a preferred solution.
Page 14 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

Table 3: Department of Defense (DOD) Analyses of Alternatives for Upcoming Space System Architectures

Space system Study lead

Stated purpose of study and applicability to 

commercially hosted payloads

Protected Satellite Communications 

Services (follow-on to Advanced 

Extremely High Frequency)

Office of the Under Secretary of 

Defense for Acquisition and 

Sustainmenta

Conduct analysis required to ensure DOD pursues the 

most suitable alternative for providing space-based 

protected satellite communications services following the 

current program. The study group was directed to assess 

a disaggregated scenario, including the use of 

government or commercially hosted payloads.

Space-Based Environmental 

Monitoring (SBEM)

Air Force Space Command Conduct analysis of alternative solutions that can provide 

environmental monitoring capabilities following the 

current Defense Meteorological Satellite Program and 

other meteorological satellite programs. The study group 

was directed to assess a disaggregated scenario, to 

include the use of government or commercially hosted 

payloads.

Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) 

Follow-On

Air Force Space Command and 

National Reconnaissance Office

Provide analytical basis for determining an approach for 

providing launch detection and missile tracking 

capabilities following the current program. The study 

group was directed to assess a disaggregated alternative.

Wideband Communications Services Office of the Under Secretary of 

Defense for Acquisition and 

Sustainmenta

Evaluate alternatives spanning air, space, cyberspace, 

and ground systems, their control segments, and their 

associated compatible user segment to address the 

required wideband communications capabilities in both 

benign and contested environments. The study group is 

directed to assess commercial innovations in technology, 

operations concepts and acquisition approach, and, 

where appropriate, include those concepts in the 

analyzed alternatives. 

Source: GAO summary of information from DOD documents and interviews with officials. | GAO-18-493

a

In response to a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, DOD 

reorganized the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics 

(OUSD(AT&L)) into the Under Secretary of Defense (Research and Engineering) and Under

Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Sustainment). The National Defense Authorization Act for 

Fiscal Year 2018 required termination ofd the Principal Department of Defense Space Advisor 

(PDSA), which was a co-leading organization for the Wideband Communication Services analysis of 

alternatives.

Two factors have contributed to DOD’s limited use of commercially 

hosted payloads. First, DOD officials identified logistical challenges to 

matching government payloads with any given commercial host satellite. 

For example, most of the offices we spoke with cited size, weight, and 

power constraints, among others, as barriers to using hosted payloads. 

Second, while individual DOD offices have realized cost and schedule 

benefits, DOD as a whole has limited information on costs and benefits of 

hosted payloads. Further, the knowledge it has gathered is fragmented 

across the agency—with multiple offices collecting piecemeal information 

on the use of hosted payloads. The limited knowledge and data on hosted 

Logistical and Data 

Challenges 

Contribute to Limited 

Use of Hosted 

Payloads
Page 15 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

payloads that is fragmented across the agency has contributed to 

resistance among space acquisition officials to adopting this approach.

DOD acquisition officials within the Office of the Secretary of Defense told 

us matching requirements between government payloads and 

commercial satellites is typically too difficult for programs to overcome. 

Specifically, they said the cumulative complexity of

• matching size, weight, power, and spectrum needs;

• aligning government and commercial timelines; and,

• addressing concerns over payload control and cybersecurity amounts 

to too great a challenge.

DOD’s Hosted Payload Office is developing tools designed to help 

address these challenges and DOD offices that have used hosted 

payloads have also found ways to overcome them.

Officials from DOD acquisition and policy offices, as well as Air Force and 

industry officials we spoke with, cited matching size, weight, and power 

between DOD payloads and commercial host satellites as a challenge. 

We similarly found in April 2013 that ensuring compatibility between 

payloads and host satellites can pose challenges because not all 

commercial satellites are big enough or have enough power to support 

hosting a payload. Whether a host satellite can accommodate a payload 

can depend on the size of the payload. Additionally, according to industry 

representatives, the space taken up by the hosted payload affects the 

amount of revenue-generating payloads the host may place on its 

satellite, such as additional transponders—devices that emit and receive 

signals—for the communications services it provides to customers. The 

complexity of integrating a government payload onto a commercial host 

can also drive the overall cost of the arrangement.

However, officials said these challenges can be mitigated through the use 

of various expertise and lessons learned. HPO officials and industry 

representatives have proposed several approaches to help match 

properties like size, weight, and power between a DOD payload and a 

commercial host satellite. The HPO is developing a hosted payload 

interface unit that could potentially provide a standard for payload 

developers and system integrators to develop and test their systems. One 

commercial company proposed an interface unit that would accommodate 

a “universal” DOD payload. Additionally, industry experts stated that with 

DOD Officials Cite 

Logistical Challenges to 

Matching Payloads to 

Hosts

Matching Size, Weight, and 

Power
Page 16 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

sufficient planning and time for system integration, nearly any payload 

can be accommodated on a host satellite.

The HPO issued guidelines in 2017 to assist DOD payload developers in 

working toward typical payload requirements and standards for host 

satellites in low Earth orbit and geostationary Earth orbit. These 

guidelines inform the payload’s electrical power and mechanical designs. 

The principal guideline—echoed by the successful CHIRP demonstration 

in 2011—is that the hosted payload must “do no harm” to the mission 

performance of its host. Also, satellite interfaces can vary from company 

to company.21 Some commercial companies had experience with the 

task—and business opportunity—of integrating multiple customers’

payloads onto satellites since at least the 1990s.

Air Force, HPO, and industry officials told us that, ideally, the payload 

should use the same spectrum allocation as the commercial host. They 

said that this is due in part to the lengthy satellite registration process that 

takes place in the United States and through the ITU that must be 

undertaken prior to placing a satellite on orbit. Some DOD officials added 

that the process for all new satellites from initial filing to ITU approval 

takes around 7 years. If a satellite owner registers for one frequency band 

of spectrum and later requires a different band, the owner has to begin 

the registration process from the beginning—restarting the 7-year 

timeline. This can be problematic for DOD payload owners seeking to 

match their military communications payload with an already-registered 

host satellite—particularly if the host satellite’s spectrum allocation is 

incompatible with the DOD payload.22 HPO and other DOD officials said 

that very different spectrum needs between payload and host would 

therefore preclude the match.

Moreover, a need for military—as opposed to commercial—spectrum for 

communications payloads can introduce additional 

 21GAO-13-279SP.

22According to an industry representative, even if a payload begins operation in an 

approved spectrum allocation, any change in the parameters of the license requires 

bilateral coordination with neighboring satellites. If the addition of a payload adds new 

capability to a previously-approved license, the ITU process must be started over from the 

beginning.

Matching Spectrum Needs
Page 17 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

complications.23 Although a process exists for a commercial satellite 

owner to license military spectrum for use by a hosted payload, 

representatives from DOD’s Chief Information Officer’s (CIO) office could 

cite only one instance where this has happened. One possible 

explanation stems from a 2012 memorandum from DOD’s CIO that 

outlines various preferred processes for a commercial host satellite to 

host military communications payloads.24 Several industry officials we 

spoke to said that the various processes outlined in the 2012 

memorandum would add to the already-lengthy process of spectrum 

registration. Further, the memorandum instructs that contractual terms 

between the payload and host satellite owners should restrict all military 

spectrum use exclusively to the U.S. military. However, one industry 

official told us that international entities do not necessarily recognize U.S. 

military spectrum, and commercial companies that obtain licenses 

through other countries are permitted to use those frequencies. For 

example, a senior official of one commercial company we met with stated 

that the company licensed U.S. military spectrum through another North 

Atlantic Treaty Organization government after failing to successfully 

coordinate an FCC request with DOD and NTIA. DOD and industry 

representatives told us that from a business perspective, it makes little 

sense for a commercial company to seek hosting opportunities for DOD 

payloads that require U.S. military spectrum.

Government and industry officials we spoke with said that aligning the 

development and acquisition timelines of a government payload and 

commercial host satellite is a challenge. The timeline associated with 

developing government sensors is generally much longer than that of 

commercial satellites, potentially creating difficulties in scheduling and 

funding commercially hosted payload arrangements. For example, DOD 

satellite systems take, on average, over 7 years to develop and launch a 

first vehicle, while commercial satellite programs typically take between 2 

and 3 years.25 DOD payload owners may find it challenging to accelerate 

 23The DOD Chief Information Officer defines military satellite communications frequencies 

as Ultra High Frequencies of 240-270 megahertz (MHz), 290-320 MHz; X-band 

frequencies of 7250-7750 MHz; Ka-band frequencies of 20.2-21.2 gigahertz (GHz), 30-31 

GHz; and Extremely High Frequencies of 43.5-45.5 GHz.

24DOD Chief Information Officer, Guidance for Obtaining Military SATCOM Services from 

a Commercial Provider via Hosted Payloads Using Military Spectrum (Washington, D.C.: 

Sept. 26, 2012).

25Aerospace Corporation, How Long Does It Take to Develop and Launch Government 

Satellite Systems?, Aerospace Report Number ATR-2015-00535 (March 12, 2015).

Matching Government and 

Commercial Development and 

Acquisition Timelines
Page 18 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

development and acquisition schedules to match those of the commercial 

satellite host. Additionally, DOD officials we spoke with said that their 

budget and planning processes require funding commitments up to 2 

years in advance of actually receiving those funds. This can further 

complicate alignment with commercial timelines because the 

development of a government sensor would need to be underway well in 

advance of a decision to fund a commercially hosted payload approach.26

Furthermore, federal law generally prohibits agencies from paying in 

advance for a future service or from obligating future appropriations.27

However, several DOD and other government agency officials we spoke 

with said that it is possible to align government and commercial timelines. 

For example, MDA adopted the commercial host’s schedule to ensure its 

Spacebased Kill Assessment payload was ready for integration and

launch without delaying the host satellite or worse—missing its own ride 

to space. DARPA officials told us they were also able to align DARPA 

acquisition and development schedules with the commercial host. The Air 

Force’s Enhanced Polar System (EPS) Recapitalization program officials 

were able to leverage existing documents such as requirements 

documents and acquisition strategies from the predecessor program to 

speed up the acquisition process. According to Air Force officials, the 

EPS Recapitalization program had a unique opportunity to take 

advantage of the availability of a commercial host and had the support of 

a high ranking Air Force official that enabled the program to move forward 

using a commercially hosted payload approach.

Some officials cited concerns with combining government and 

commercial space missions. For example, officials across DOD told us 

they were wary of losing control over a hosted payload should a 

commercial company’s needs change. They said that theoretically, a 

commercial provider could decide to turn off power to the government’s 

payload if the host satellite needed extra power to perform a certain 

function. Additionally, DOD space program officials expressed concern 

that commercial practices for ensuring the mission success of the payload 

may not be up to government standards—that commercial testing and 

integration standards may be less robust than those used by traditional 

government programs to ensure success, adding risk to the government 

 26We reported similar findings in April 2013 (see GAO-13-279SP).

27With respect to prohibiting agencies from paying in advance of future service, see 31 

U.S.C. § 3324, and from obligating future appropriations, see 31 U.S.C. § 1341 (a).

Maintaining Payload Control 

and Cybersecurity
Page 19 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

payload. Furthermore, officials in one DOD program office expressed a 

distrust of commercial host motives in offering to support a government 

payload on their satellite, suggesting that a company could be intending 

to steal government technologies. However, industry officials we spoke 

with said that DOD can generally issue a solicitation that includes 

necessary stipulations. For example, including a condition to preserve the 

payload’s priority of mission and other terms to protect the government’s 

investment may provide some assurance to those officials that perceive 

security risks.

Additionally, some officials we spoke to cited cybersecurity concerns. 

They cited loss of control over data security as a challenge to using 

hosted payloads. Officials told us the data could be vulnerable to 

eavesdropping or manipulation as it travels between government ground 

systems and the commercially hosted government payload. However, 

according to HPO officials, the Air Force overcame this challenge on the 

CHIRP mission by procuring a secure interface that provided a data link 

between the payload and dedicated transponder and ground terminal. As 

mentioned previously, the Hosted Payload Office is developing a hosted 

payload data interface unit to mitigate this challenge by securing payload 

data communications from the host satellite.

DOD, at the department-wide level, has limited information on 

commercially hosted payloads—mostly due to a lack of experience in 

using hosted payloads and complexities associated with them. For 

example, acquisition officials in the Office of the Secretary of Defense told 

us that DOD needs more data and analysis of the potential costs and 

benefits. However, realistic cost modeling for commercially hosted DOD 

payloads is unavailable because costs can vary across potential hosts 

and DOD has minimal experience using commercial hosts. Similarly, the 

HPO performs market research and cost estimates based on data from 

commercial companies, but according to one official in the HPO, the costs 

tend to vary based on the supply and demand in the commercial satellite 

industry. Additionally, HPO officials said their cost savings analyses are 

based on only two real-world commercially hosted DOD payloads—

CHIRP and REACH.28 HPO officials told us that with additional 

government data they could compare the costs of system architectures 

 28The Hosted Payload Office does not have information on the IRIS effort because it was 

developed and launched in 2009, several years before the Air Force created the Hosted 

Payload Office in 2011. 

Department-wide 

Information on 

Commercially Hosted 

Payloads Is Limited and 

Fragmented Across 

Offices
Page 20 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

that include free-flier satellites with those that use commercially hosted 

payloads. Additionally, some potential benefits of using commercially 

hosted payloads, such as resilience, may be difficult to measure. In our 

2014 report on disaggregation, we recommended that DOD define key 

measures related to disaggregation, including developing metrics to 

measure resilience.29 DOD is in the process of developing standard 

metrics for resilience.

DOD’s knowledge of commercially hosted payloads is also fragmented 

across the agency. Several DOD offices are independently conducting 

activities related to commercially hosted payloads, such as pursuing 

commercially hosted payload arrangements, developing lessons learned, 

and determining demand for commercial hosts. For example, MDA 

officials told us they have developed cost and technical data and lessons 

learned based on MDA’s Spacebased Kill Assessment payload—

launched earlier this year—but have not shared it across the agency. On 

the other hand, the Space Test Program, also housed within the Air 

Force’s SMC develops lessons learned on its payloads, which are 

government payloads on government host satellites and officials there 

told us they provide lessons learned to the HPO.30 In October 2017, 

SMC’s Launch Office sent a request for data on hosted payloads to DOD 

agencies, research laboratories, and universities, but the HPO was not an 

active participant in this request. Independent efforts within DOD to 

collect and analyze cost, schedule, and performance results from hosted 

 29GAO-15-7.

30The Air Force’s Space Test Program, located at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, 

provides mission design and coordinates space launch for DOD science and technology 

efforts.
Page 21 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

payloads can create fragmentation in DOD’s knowledge base and can 

increase the risk of duplicative efforts within DOD.31

DOD does not collect or consolidate agency-wide knowledge on 

commercially hosted payloads and has no plans to do so. Agency officials 

stated that DOD does not require programs outside of SMC to consult the 

HPO when seeking commercially hosted payload arrangements. The Air 

Force established the HPO to facilitate commercially hosted payloads, 

however, the 2011 Program Management Directive that established the 

HPO states that the HPO will coordinate with SMC directorates for 

detailed implementation of hosted payloads but does not address 

coordination with agencies or directorates outside of SMC. According to 

an HPO official, programs are not required to use HPO expertise or tools 

as they pursue using hosted payloads. Further, this official stated that 

programs are not required to provide any data or lessons learned to the 

HPO, or any other central point within DOD, following the pursuit or 

completion of a hosted payload arrangement. The 2011 Program 

Management Directive directs the HPO to provide lessons learned to 

SMC directorates but does not direct SMC offices to share information—

such as costs, technical data and lessons learned on completed 

commercially hosted payload efforts—with the HPO.32 An HPO official 

 31Fragmentation is an ongoing issue within DOD space organizations, as we found in July 

2016. DOD is currently studying ways to address broader fragmentation in response to 

congressional directives. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, 

Pub. L. No. 114-328, § 1616 directed the Secretary of Defense and the Director of the 

Office of Management and Budget to separately submit recommendations to certain 

congressional committees on how to strengthen the leadership, management, and 

organization of the Department of Defense with respect to the national security space 

activities of the Department and address findings in our report, GAO-16-592R. In our 

report, we found that DOD space leadership responsibilities are fragmented among 

several organizations, including 60 stakeholder organizations across DOD, the Executive 

Office of the President, the Intelligence Community, and civilian agencies. Additionally, the 

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018, Pub. L. No.115-91, § 1601 

directed the Deputy Secretary of Defense to conduct a review and identify a 

recommended organizational and management structure for the national security space 

components of the Department of Defense. In January 2018, the DOD issued guidance 

aimed at responding to directives from Congress. For example, the guidance assigned 

responsibilities to streamline operations and better support the warfighter. The guidance 

also directed a comprehensive review of the Air Force space acquisition organization and 

authorities.

32 Department of the Air Force, Headquarters Space and Missile Systems Center, 

Program Management Directive (PMD) for Space and Missile Systems Center Hosted 

Payload Office (HPO) (Los Angeles, CA: July 2011).
Page 22 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

indicated that the HPO obtains data through informal communication with 

those programs using hosted payloads that are willing to share data.

We found that limitations and fragmentation of data and knowledge are 

contributing to resistance within DOD to using hosted payloads. Several 

DOD acquisition and program officials we spoke with who did not have 

experience with hosted payloads generally stated that the potential risks 

to using hosted payloads outweighed the benefits, and that there was 

little evidence-based analysis to prove otherwise. They were not aware of 

existing tools that could assist them in making decisions even though the 

HPO has been developing these tools and has made efforts to share 

them within SMC. DOD acquisition and program officials consistently 

cited a preference for maintaining the acquisition status quo over 

introducing any perceived added risk to their programs. At the same time, 

however, officials who have used hosted payloads were able to overcome 

logistical and technical challenges and realize cost savings. However, 

according to an HPO official, there is currently no requirement in place to 

facilitate sharing their approaches to doing so. We have reported in the 

past that DOD’s culture has generally been resistant to changes in space 

acquisition approaches and that fragmented responsibilities for 

acquisitions have made it very difficult to coordinate and deliver 

interdependent systems.33

Moreover, our past studies of commercial strategic sourcing best 

practices have found that that leading companies centralize procurement 

decisions by aligning, prioritizing, and integrating procurement functions 

within the organization.

34 Establishing the Hosted Payload Office is one 

step in this direction, but the office is organized under the Advanced 

Systems and Development Directorate—a research and development 

organization—under SMC. Moreover, the 2011 directive that established 

the HPO does not address coordination or responsibilities for agencies or 

directorates beyond SMC. Consolidating knowledge is important because 

it allows organizations to share information and data upon which to 

develop consistent procurement tactics, such as ways to overcome 

challenges in matching a government payload with a commercial host. As 

 33GAO, Defense Space Acquisitions: Too Early to Determine If Recent Changes Will 

Resolve Persistent Fragmentation in Management and Oversight, GAO-16-592R 

(Washington, D.C.: July 27, 2016). 

34GAO, Strategic Sourcing: Leading Commercial Practices Can Help Federal Agencies 

Increase Savings When Acquiring Services, GAO-13-417 (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 15, 

2013).
Page 23 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

we found in our work on commercial strategic sourcing best practices, 

organizations that struggled with fragmented information in the past 

overcame this challenge in part by consolidating their data on costs and 

spending. While hosted payload acquisitions are not a typical service 

acquisition, successful organizations have found that these techniques 

work for highly specialized technical services for which few suppliers 

exist.

As DOD considers new architectures and acquisition approaches, 

commercially hosted payloads have the potential to play a role in 

delivering needed capabilities on orbit more quickly and at a more 

affordable cost than traditional DOD space acquisitions. Placing DOD 

payloads on commercial satellites might also be an effective method by 

which to increase resiliency. However, DOD’s experience and the data 

collected so far are limited in informing decisions on the use of these 

payloads. DOD would benefit from leveraging the knowledge and 

information gained from each hosted payload experience. Centralized 

collection and assessment of agency-wide data would help enable DOD 

to mitigate the logistical challenges inherent in matching payloads to 

hosts, and better position DOD to make reasoned, evidence-based 

decisions on whether a hosted payload would be a viable solution to meet 

warfighter needs. Without such knowledge, and a way for interested 

programs to leverage it, DOD may not be fully informed about using 

hosted payloads and may risk missing opportunities to rapidly and 

affordably address emerging threats in space.

The Secretary of Defense should require programs using hosted 

payloads to provide cost and technical data, and lessons learned to a 

central office. In implementing this recommendation, DOD should 

consider whether the Hosted Payload Office is the most appropriate office 

to centralize agency-wide knowledge. (Recommendation 1)

We provided a draft of this report to the Department of Commerce, NASA, 

and DOD for comment. The Department of Commerce provided technical 

comments, which we incorporated as appropriate. NASA did not have

comments on our draft report. In its written comments, DOD concurred 

with our recommendation and stated that SMC had initiated a major 

reorganization since we drafted our report and that under the new 

organizational construct, the Hosted Payload Office had changed and 

may not be the appropriate office for centralizing DOD-wide hosted 

Conclusions

Recommendation for 

Executive Action

Agency Comments
Page 24 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

payload knowledge. DOD’s comments are reproduced in appendix II. 

DOD also provided technical comments which we incorporated as 

appropriate. 

We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional 

committees, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Defense, the 

Administrator of NASA, and other interested parties. In addition, the 

report is available at no charge on the GAO website at 

http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact 

me at (202) 512-4841 or by email at chaplainc@gao.gov. Contact points 

for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be 

found on the last page of this report. GAO staff who made key 

contributions to this report are listed in appendix III. 

Cristina T. Chaplain

Director

Contracting and National Security Acquisitions
Appendix I: Civil and Other Agency 

Commercially Hosted Payloads

Page 25 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

As shown in table 4, civil and other government agencies use 

commercially hosted payloads to enhance navigation systems, monitor 

environmental pollution, conduct scientific missions, and improve search 

and rescue systems. Officials from all of the agencies we spoke with cited 

cost savings and the ability to leverage existing commercial schedules 

and technologies among the reasons they use commercial host satellites.

Table 4: Civil and Other Agency Use of Commercial Host Satellites

Agency Commercially Hosted Payload Effort

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) FAA documentation states that the Wide Area Augmentation System aids in aircraft 

take-off and landing navigation. This system design requires the use of three 

geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) satellite signals from independent satellites.a

Two of these sensors are hosted on orbiting commercial satellites, and FAA stated 

that it plans to procure the third commercial satellite host in 2018. The FAA officials 

said that using a hosted payload approach was the most economical means of 

providing these three GEO signals.

National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA)

As stated by NASA officials, five commercially hosted payload efforts across mission 

areas include monitoring environmental pollution, aerosol and carbon imaging, and 

measuring densities and temperatures in various Earth atmospheres:

• Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory (GEOCarb): This mission will 

measure key greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, and carbon 

monoxide—and vegetation health. This mission will fly on an SES Government 

Solutions commercial satellite in geostationary orbit.

• Global-scale Observations of Limb and Disk (GOLD): This mission will collect 

images of Earth’s upper atmosphere to better understand activity in this region, 

which is responsible for a variety of space weather events. This mission 

launched on an SES Government Solutions commercial satellite on January 28, 

2018.

• Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC): This mission will demonstrate an ultraprecise, miniature atomic clock to inform future deep-space navigation 

missions. A Surrey Satellite Technologies commercial satellite will host this 

mission in low Earth orbit.

• Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA): This mission will measure air pollution 

using a single camera instrument to characterize the size, composition, and 

quantities of particulate matter. This mission will be hosted on a commercial 

host in low Earth orbit. NASA expects to select the commercial host in 2018.

• Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO): This mission will 

measure air pollution of North America hourly and at high spatial resolution from 

geostationary orbit. This payload will be hosted on a commercial satellite, which 

NASA expects to select in 2019.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA)

Cooperative Data and Rescue Services (CDARS): According to NOAA officials, this 

mission includes the Argos Advanced Data Collection System (A-DCS) instrument. 

NOAA plans to host this payload on a commercial satellite, which it plans to select in 

2019.

Appendix I: Civil and Other Agency 

Commercially Hosted Payloads
Appendix I: Civil and Other Agency 

Commercially Hosted Payloads

Page 26 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

Agency Commercially Hosted Payload Effort

United States Coast Guard Automatic Identification System: According to the U.S. Coast Guard, this mission 

was designed to improve identifying and tracking ships at sea by collecting data on 

vessel location, source, and speed. While the original payload failed in 2009, the 

capability exists on other satellites from the company that hosted the original 

payload. The government now purchases these data. 

Source: GAO summary of information from FAA, NASA, NOAA and U.S. Coast Guard documents and interviews. | GAO-18-493

a

Geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) is a circular orbit at an altitude of 35,852 km with a low inclination 

(i.e., near or on the equator). A GEO satellite’s revolution is synchronized with the Earth’s rotation 

giving it a seemingly stationary position above a fixed point on the equator. Non-geosynchronous 

Earth orbit satellites are those in orbits other than GEO, such as satellites located in low Earth orbit, 

medium Earth orbit, or Sun synchronous orbit.
Appendix II: Comments from the Department 

of Defense

Page 27 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

Appendix II: Comments from the Department 

of Defense
Appendix II: Comments from the Department 

of Defense

Page 28 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites
Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments

Page 29 GAO-18-493 Commercial Host Satellites

Cristina T. Chaplain (202) 512-4841 or chaplainc@gao.gov.

In addition to the contact named above, Rich Horiuchi (Assistant 

Director), Erin Cohen (Analyst in Charge), Claire Buck, Jon Felbinger, 

Stephanie Gustafson, Matthew Metz, Sylvia Schatz, and Roxanna Sun

made key contributions to this report.

Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments

GAO Contact

Staff 

Acknowledgments

(102187)
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