Regaining the High-Ground: The Future of Space Security

With space exploration poised to expand, the United States should consider the new threat landscape that will expand alongside it. Lockheed Martin knows harnessing connectivity at the edge is key to keeping the U.S. and its allies one step ahead in the military space race of tomorrow. 

Here’s how Lockheed Martin is setting the stage today for tomorrow’s battlespace:

Redefining the Playing Field

As technology has advanced, so have the bounds of space exploration. But as the space economy evolves, the U.S. Space Force has found that the technologies we rely on heavily today, like low-Earth orbit satellites, won’t quite satisfy the demands of an increasingly transformative space race. 

Lockheed Martin is diversifying mission capabilities with a distributed architecture. The company is focusing on distributing resilient AI-enabled tools like Combat Effectiveness Core (CEC) across orbits to play out security scenarios. This approach gives decision makers access to the insights necessary to develop data-driven solutions with a more holistic approach to the mission. 

Connecting Networks Within Networks

To meet needs in the next frontier, the U.S. will need to develop effective strategic communications methods in Joint All Domain Operations (JADO) to connect land, sea, air, cyber, and space systems and assets. By creating a mesh network of systems like the Space Transport Layer’s Tranche 0, decision makers are able to predict, disrupt and disable threats without missing a beat.

By connecting commanders on high speed, resilient networks, it creates the path forward for rapid decision making in space through autonomous threat detection.

Problem Solving On-Orbit 

Satellites are the lifeblood of successful missions in space and on the ground, In the future, this technology will need to evolve even more rapidly, making it necessary for the U.S. government and its partners to ensure these capabilities are flexible and can be augmented and serviced on-orbit.

Imagine an interface that could swap out parts or add hardware to a satellite once it’s in orbit. With Lockheed Martin’s Augmentation System Port Interface, or ASPIN, satellites are equipped with docking adapters so organizations can add capabilities to a platform post-launch. This technology lays the groundwork for missions down the line, like self-propagation, in which robots can repurpose hardware, mine resources and conduct maintenance without human interaction. 

Automating Mission Capabilities

By 2050, much of the technology we use today will be autonomous. This requires high levels of network connectivity as well as a new level of trust from humanity that these tools can improve national security on their own.

In this future battlespace, AI will play a key role.  Lockheed Martin is using AI systems to conduct wargames that train algorithms with potential attack scenarios. Those simulation approaches can establish a strong analytical foundation to define the architectures and capabilities needed to deter or be successful in a war in space.

Also, additional digital capabilities such as employing digital twin technologies like BEAST^TM, COMPASS^TM,  HORIZON^TM and iSpace^TM, autonomous tools can aid in space vehicle design, model architectural choices and simulate courses of action, all at a faster, more accurate pace than humans on Earth can.

Partnering in Innovation

Lockheed Martin knows that to be successful in space, they need to look at innovative technology being used among other industries, like automotives or gaming.

The company is actively collaborating with small businesses to accelerate technology development and integrate capabilities that combat challenging missions that the U.S. government faces and help the nation meet the needs of tomorrow’s missions. 

Learn more about how Lockheed Martin is preparing for the future of space.