About a Dozen Companies Get DOD Hybrid Space Architecture Contracts

Insider Brief

• DIU and SSC said the HSA program supports DoD goals of modernizing acquisitions, accelerating commercial integration, and establishing a fully operational hybrid space architecture by 2026.
• The Pentagon is advancing its Hybrid Space Architecture (HSA), awarding contracts to a slate of commercial firms to prototype technologies that integrate civil, commercial, and military space assets into a unified communications network.
• Companies including Capella Space, Lockheed Martin, Viasat, and OneWeb Technologies will develop and test capabilities over the next year in key global regions, aiming to enhance secure, redundant, and resilient military communications.

The Pentagon has added about a dozen companies — depending on how you count the partnerships — to its program to integrate commercial space technologies into a seamless network designed to give U.S. military forces more reliable and secure communications around the globe.

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), the U.S. Department of Defense unit that facilitates implementing emerging commercial technologies across the military, announced contracts with a dozen companies in the development of prototypes for its Hybrid Space Architecture (HSA). HSA is a network that aims to blend civil, commercial and government space assets into a unified communication platform for military operations.

According to DIU, a slate of commercial vendors, including Capella Space Corporation, EdgeCortix, Eutelsat America Corp. + OneWeb Technologies, Fairwinds Technologies – AST Space Mobile, Illumina Computing Group, Lockheed Martin Space, MapLarge, SES Government Solutions, Skycorp Incorporated, SkyFi, Ursa Space Systems, and Viasat have been added to the program. These vendors will build and test new capabilities in live operational demonstrations across the Indo-Pacific, European, Central and South Command theaters over the coming year.

This initiative, according to DIU and SSC, represents a major step toward boosting situational awareness and operational agility for the U.S. and its allies. The concept centers on enabling multi-path routing of communications that can bypass disruptions caused by weather or interference, providing low-latency, redundant data transport.

“This is a winning collaboration between DIU, SSC and the commercial space industry to advance Hybrid Space Architecture for the U.S. Space Force,” said Lt. Col. Tim Trimailo, director of Space Systems Command’s Commercial Space Office, said in a statement. “Together with DIU we’re accelerating the integration of commercial capabilities through HSA demonstrations and pilot efforts to scale quickly into a resilient, multi-orbit architecture supporting the DoD’s vision for seamless, uninterrupted global communications. These efforts exemplify the power of whole of government and industry collaboration in delivering real-world capability at speed.”

The HSA will incorporate commercial capabilities like persistent sensing, data fusion, and advanced edge computing, combined with secure communication platforms, to enhance mission planning and execution. The program also reflects broader Department of Defense goals to modernize software acquisition and streamline space systems procurement to outpace emerging threats.

A live hybrid network will soon be activated to support demonstrations, wargames, and additional technical integrations. DIU says these trials will lay the groundwork for a fully operational architecture by 2026.

“DIU’s ability to rapidly integrate and deliver a hybrid space network architecture is testament to its process of allowing commercial innovators to solve complex problems at speed and scale by applying their solutions to DoD’s problems,” said Steve Butow, Director of DIU’s Space Portfolio.

Key contributors to HSA include the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Rapid Architecture Prototyping Integration Development division, the Strategic Capabilities Office, and the Naval Research Laboratory.

“Working closely with DIU is key to providing commercial options to the Space Force and overcoming the challenges to incorporate those capabilities into our architectures.  We are committed to continuing that work,” said Dr. Michael Starks, Rapid Architecture Prototyping and Integration Demonstration Laboratory, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.