Internet in Space Implications Beyond Defense, DIU Space Portfolio Director Says

Steve Butow, director of the space portfolio at the Defense Innovation Unit, said on Thursday during the AWS Summit in Washington, that his organization intends to build internet in space and conduct an on-orbit demonstration of its capabilities by the end of 2023.

Butow, a past Potomac Officers Club event speaker, said the goal is to make space internet or hybrid space architecture accessible for the Earth and moon first then Mars and the solar system. A report by the House of Representatives appropriations committee indicates that the internet in space concept has already gained support in Congress, Defense One reported.

A DIU spokesperson told Defense One it started awarding other transaction contracts in 2022 for the hybrid space architecture, with seven companies already on contract for remote sensing, cyber, communications and cloud services.

The implications of the internet in space go beyond defense and will have significant economic effects, according to Butow.