Orbiting Partnerships: A Constellation’s Second Life in Space Defense

In an era of rapidly evolving space technologies and growing global threats, the United States will need to seek novel ways to remain a leader in space. After years of relying on large and expensive satellites, the military has moved toward a low-cost, distributed architecture to meet national security needs. This paper explores an innovative strategy to leverage the U.S. Space Force’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) as a tool for enhancing international defense partnerships. Rather than give these satellites a fiery grave burning up in Earth’s atmosphere, the military should consider repurposing decommissioned PWSA satellites for allied use. These old satellites can be sold to allied foreign militaries, which would provide an opportunity to strengthen our global defense network and bolster the aerospace industry. This approach would be highly beneficial because it would open new avenues for diplomatic and strategic cooperation.