Plan to Establish Commercial Space Reserve Gains Pentagon Support

A U.S. Space Force plan to create a commercial space reserve is seeing increasing support from the Pentagon.

Commercial satellite operators that will join the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserves should prioritize providing satellite services, including satellite communication and remote sensing, to the U.S. government during national security emergencies.

According to Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, the Space Force’s deputy chief for operations, cyber and nuclear, the need to establish an industrial base for the space domain is a lesson learned from the war in Ukraine, SpaceNews reported.

CASR has some similarities with the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program the Pentagon launched to augment Department of Defense airlift requirements in emergencies using commercial aircraft. Burt, however, noted that the airplanes would not be deployed to dangerous war zones, unlike commercial satellites, which will be treated as military spacecraft during conflicts.

The Space Systems Command’s Commercial Space Office has started creating a plan to implement the CASR initiative. Col. Richard Kniseley, head of the commercial office, said the military service is considering establishing contractual relationships with companies that would voluntarily join CASR, meaning they would remain under contract even during peacetime.