Space Force Launches Orbital Watch to Strengthen Threat-Information Sharing and U.S. Commercial Space Industry

Insider Brief

• The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command has launched Orbital Watch, a platform designed to share unclassified threat information with commercial space partners. The ultimate aim of the program is to boost collaboration with commercial providers, sharpen situational awareness, and bolster resilience in the space domain.
• Orbital Watch relies on partnerships with organizations in the intelligence community, including the Director of National Intelligence, Office of the Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, and the Commercial Integration Cell.
• Orbital Watch is currently in a beta phase focused on disseminating new risk assessments each quarter. When it reaches full operational capability, the program will introduce a secure Commercial Portal, allowing two-way exchanges of unclassified threat data between the government and key commercial space providers.

The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) Front Door office announced it has rolled out Orbital Watch, a platform designed to share unclassified threat information with commercial space partners. Front Door delivered an unclassified threat fact sheet—authored by Headquarters Space Force Intelligence—to more than 900 providers in its catalogue. The move reflects a growing effort to help companies counter threats ranging from cyber intrusions to electronic warfare and adversarial on-orbit activities.

“This initiative is in direct alignment with the DoD Commercial Space Integration Strategy and the USSF Commercial Space Strategy, as well as congressional guidance,” said Col. Richard Kniseley, senior materiel leader at SSC Commercial Space Office. “Front Door has vast ties to industry right now and a clear mechanism for communicating threat information. The goal is sharing threat information in a timely manner, and Front Door is well equipped to do that.”

Orbital Watch relies on partnerships with organizations in the intelligence community, including the Director of National Intelligence, Office of the Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, and the Commercial Integration Cell. The program aims to boost collaboration with commercial providers, sharpen situational awareness, and bolster resilience in the space domain.

“Front Door is moving out on this essential effort,” said Victor Vigliotti, director, SSC Front Door. “We are providing our commercial partners the information needed to increase system resilience and mitigate threats, both of which are foundational to the successful integration of commercial space capabilities in national security space architectures.”

Orbital Watch is currently in a beta phase focused on disseminating new risk assessments each quarter. When it reaches full operational capability, the program will introduce a secure Commercial Portal, allowing two-way exchanges of unclassified threat data between the government and key commercial space providers.

“The launch of Orbital Watch truly marks the beginning of a new age for threat information sharing and solves a critical challenge for both the government and industry,” said Vigliotti. “U.S. adversaries are moving fast; we need to move faster.”