Space Force awards first operational space-reserve contracts, worth $1.37 million, to six tracking firms

By Garrett Sloane

WASHINGTON — The Space Force has awarded its first operational contracts under the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve, a program meant to let the military call on commercial space companies during a crisis. Six space-tracking companies share a total of $1.37 million, a Space Systems Command spokesperson told Breaking Defense.

The awards went to Australia’s EOS Space Systems, Canada’s NorthStar Earth and Space, InTrack Radar, Anduril, through its acquisition of ExoAnalytic, Slingshot Aerospace and LeoLabs, Breaking Defense reported on Oct. 23. Each company agreed to provide space domain awareness capabilities, meaning data on the location and behavior of satellites and debris, that the government can draw on when demand spikes.

The $1.37 million total is the combined value of the six agreements as described by the spokesperson. Individual amounts were not reported.

A space version of the airline reserve

The program, known as CASR, is modeled on the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, which lets U.S. Transportation Command call on commercial airlines to move troops and cargo in wartime. Under CASR, companies with active defense contracts voluntarily commit specific capabilities the government can tap during high-demand periods, according to ExecutiveGov.

The command bought the services through the ACCESS contract, a vehicle under a General Services Administration framework that the Space Force’s Joint Commercial Operations cell uses to buy commercial data and data-fusion services, ExecutiveGov reported. Industry sources who have received similar contracts from that cell told Breaking Defense they tend to run no more than six months.

The new contracts follow a March 2025 award of $1.1 million in three-month pilot contracts to four companies that were not named. Those pilots were designed to test contracting processes and the CASR framework agreement, not to deliver operational data, Breaking Defense reported.

What the Space Force says

Col. Timothy Trimailo, director of Space Systems Command’s Commercial Space Office, called CASR “a first-of-its-kind effort” for the service, ExecutiveGov reported. He said the team studied commercial offerings, gauged their readiness and mapped out how to integrate them.

“Commercial providers bring diverse technical strengths and business models,” Trimailo said. “That diversity is an asset.”

The command said the agreements will help it build a repeatable model for adding commercial capabilities against validated requirements. It plans to look at other mission areas once requirements mature, commercial options are vetted and approvals are secured. Earlier plans called for CASR contracts covering satellite communications; positioning, navigation and timing; and tactical surveillance, reconnaissance and tracking, according to ExecutiveGov. Trimailo also told reporters at the Space Industry Days conference in Los Angeles, held Oct. 19-22, that the initial awards were meant to give a short-term boost in space domain awareness data and help the service judge military demand, according to reports cited by Breaking Defense.

The questions still open

Clayton Swope, deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Breaking Defense the small dollar values and short terms could make it hard to attract companies.

“It will be hard for companies to build capacity and capability at scale for use during a crisis if they aren’t paid to do so today,” Swope said. “Companies do not build extra capacity for sport—it costs money.”

Two larger issues remain unresolved, Breaking Defense reported. One is whether and when the government could order a CASR partner to cut off service to other customers during a conflict, a power often called “shutter control.” Companies worry that exercising it could expose them to breach-of-contract claims and scare away customers, particularly foreign governments. The other is whether the Pentagon would compensate companies whose satellites are damaged or destroyed in a conflict.

The Commercial Space Office has yet to develop contractual arrangements that address those issues, according to Breaking Defense.

Request for comment

The Washington Inquisitor sought comment from Space Systems Command, Anduril, LeoLabs, Slingshot Aerospace, InTrack Radar and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. This story will be updated with any responses.

Featured image: Space Delta 2 members observe orbital data at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., Oct. 4, 2024. U.S. Space Force photo by David Dozoretz, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; cropped.