Space Command, Spacewerx Tackle Sustained On-Orbit Maneuver

COLORADO SPRINGS—U.S. Space Command is co-sponsoring a $20 million effort to build up U.S. on-orbit maneuvering capabilities, its commander, Gen. Stephen Whiting, said April 8.

The command is working with Spacewerx to fund 10 proposals worth $1.9 million each over a 15-month period, he said at the Space Foundation’s annual Space Symposium here. Those proposals will be awarded “soon,” he said.

“This effort will continue to invest in the most promising technology from commercial industry, to help us solve the sustained space-maneuver challenge so we can bring this joint function to the space domain,” he said.

The proposals are supported with Spacewerx Small Business Innovation Research funds, Maj. Jareth Lamb, the organization’s space ventures branch chief told Aviation Week in an April 8 email.

The proposals were received via an open solicitation, which was released Sept. 18, 2024, and closed on Oct. 16, 2024, Lamb said. Awards are expected to be announced on April 14. The program would result in “demonstrable prototypes of the technology that was awarded,” Lamb added.

Whiting’s command is responsible for maintaining space capabilities if or when a conflict emerges in the domain. He warned the U.S. must prepare for “a protracted conflict” to be successful and that China is continuing to launch refuelable spacecraft and improve its on-orbit logistics platforms.

U.S. Space Force leadership has expressed interest in fielding new capabilities for on-orbit maneuvering and logistics, and has supported several technology demonstrations. But to date, the service has not backed that mission area with major funding.

“Papers and PowerPoints that talk about those kinds of things–these are important, [but] they can only take us so far in deploying game-changing capabilities,” Whiting said.