Software Developers Are Becoming Critical Members in The US Space Force

The use of AI to turn data into decisions has shown, even from the outset, to have “immense applications.” Warfighters in the Space domain say the use of data analytics, artificial intelligence, and other software components stretches as far as the heavenly bodies, navigating traffic and tactics in the Space domain and informing the development of command plans and rocket structuring. The Space Force is currently accelerating its defensive strategy, publishing a new command plan because the Space domain, experts argue, is becoming the “decisive domain” of world conflicts and the area where most warfighting tactical advantages will be decided due to the increasing importance of having satellite advantages in ground-real operations.

This past week in Orlando, Florida, members of the United States Space Force and state-of-the-art vendors of actionable analytics, satellite technologies, and adjacent SaaS modeling met in the ballroom of Destination Parkway’s Hilton to highlight how far the partnership between the technology industry and warfighting bodies has driven this tactical excellence.

The Threats That Drive a Space Tech Race

In a 2024 unclassified threats briefing, the U.S. Space Force explained that China’s rapid deployment of satellite surveillance in the region of Space near Earth has sparked an increased tech drive on the USSF’s part. SaaS developers and AI model trainers have become integral to this mission.

As Space Force commanders pointed out, all fights begin with threats, many of which center on competition with China. However, an issue Space theater warfighters face is that the threats themselves are still being determined, as Space is an emerging conflict theater. In many ways, the competition from China’s tech sector has influenced the threat theater because emerging technology determines the threat landscape.

At this stage, the primary threat from near-peer competitors is the sense of presence and competitiveness in the space domain. SaaS vendors who build for the government are critical to power projection because they provide the pioneering mobility needed to dominate competition while protecting information assets and intellectual property claims.

A Trial By Fire 

Wisdom guided the hands of warfighters to make 2024 a year of preparation before it had even gotten off the ground. This is because 2024 was a year of unprecedented challenges that had never before been seen in the theater of modern conflict and defensive first response.

USSF officers underscored a critical challenge that the Space Force faced after these events. On the night of the Iran intercontinental missile volley, many of the Guardians in the control room were fresh troops on their first service rotation week. Some Guardians were in the control room for the first time that night.

Personnel issues and a lack of congressional funding have put the Space Force in a situation where the personnel it does have must be able to make decisions in high-stakes, complex combat theaters, even if they are only at the outset of their watch. Vendors appealed to commanders, cadets, and Congress alike.

Where there is a need for more funding in a theater where every cent counts, customized defensive SaaS, glove-fit to the use case, and made to the warfighter’s specifications, is a godsend.

These tools can provide analytics and help make judgment calls that support brand-new recruits with all the talent needed to execute in high-stakes scenarios. However, based on experience factors, judgment calls may still be uncertain.

Staying true to the service motto Semper Supra, the USSF employs AI capabilities to bridge the personnel gap and the advisory of skill mastery that younger cadets with less In-the-field experience need. Commanders used the night of the Iran attacks as an example to underscore the importance of the tools they had at their disposal that night.  

Systems Made To Fit Like Body Armor 

As panelists pointed out, not all bells and whistles of a monolithic system are required for everyday operations. Warfighters need systems that can adapt and overcome logistics failings.

The warfighters with the USSF expressed the need for systems that are lightweight, easy to load, and easy to train upon. Vendors presenting for the Spacepower Conference include universally known names like Amazon, who presented Project Kuiper, an effort to bring continuous internet access to the Space domain, and ExoAnalytic. This analytics system provides visibility in space and warfighting analytics designed to be a glove fit for planning, ops, training, wargaming, and exploratory analysis of space-system impacts. Other similar tools used outside of the Space Force in a commercial sense include Onshape, which is a CAD platform and works to offer a design studio for reusable rocketry.

In this sense, SaaS tools work as both supportive and offensive tools. In many scenarios presented by space theater warfighters and their corresponding SaaS vendors, SaaS systems require functionality that fits the warfighter’s command center, such as body armor, building a fortress around data, and a logistics center around information needs.

2024 was a year of planning and opportunity. The wide space of the possible was made feasible and cost-efficient by analytics and SaaS vendors. For 2025, the goal shifts to command and control, two functions of warfighting that require software savvy and training from SaaS developers to understand on an operative level.

Human Enterprise in Space Inevitable, Says NASA Chief Appointee

The need for analytics and systems in space is emerging enterprises with vast potential to expand on the broader level of space domain visual awareness tools such as analytics and micro-level needs. NASA Chief Appointee Jared Isaacman told the crowd that he believes that industry and the USSF will “inevitably” send human representatives into Space to protect all sorts of economic interests, from mining asteroids to manning robotics teams at a ground control system. The reality that there will be humans establishing industry in Space invites competition. Isaacman explained that civilian interests in the space domain must be protected because of this.

Industry experts acknowledge that the industry is establishing groundwork in space, and the warfighters who will represent respect for civilian interests will need a toolkit to execute this. Systems developers and AI modeling trainers are vital to this race to the stars, building the cyber framework and stitching the data fabric that makes the whole pursuit possible.