Frank Calvelli: Space Force Looking at Autonomous Satellites, Other Orbits to Address Ground Station Security

Frank Calvelli, assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration, said that the U.S. Space Force is looking at automation and expanding into other orbits as a way to address threats associated with using ground stations.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Calvelli said he envisions that the service will no longer need ground stations in the next 20 years, with the service relying more on autonomous satellites with onboard processing capability, similar to how it is being done in smartphones, DefenseScoop reported.

Calvelli’s statement comes as the Space Force faces growing threats over the ground segments used by the U.S. military space architecture, often seen as a way for adversaries to attack the armed forces’ satellite communications network.

The U.S. government has been engaged in other activities to protect its space assets. The Space Development Agency has been working on the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, a space-based threat tracking, warning and targeting solution. In February, SDA launched four satellites that will form part of the Tranche  0 Tracking Layer of its space-based threat tracking, warning and targeting constellation.