Small Satellite Alliance (SmallSat Alliance), who for years was the main lobbyist for the deployment of thousands of satellite groups, announced a strategic change of course. Now the organization will not focus on the number of devices, and on the coordination and integration of space assets.
Why did the focus shift??
Previously, the main goal was to convince the US government and the Department of Defense (DoD) in the advantages of branched architectures (proliferation) – the idea was, that hundreds of cheap satellites are better than a few expensive and vulnerable "targets". Now, when the concept of "rampant space" had already become the official strategy of the Space Force, new challenges arose:
Data redundancy: There were so many companions, that ground stations and analysts do not have time to process the flow of information.
Interoperability: Devices from different manufacturers often cannot "communicate" with each other, which creates isolated islands of data.
Traffic management: The growing number of SmallSats requires tighter coordination to avoid collisions and radio interference.
New priorities of the Alliance:
Combining networks: Creation of uniform communication standards, so that data from commercial satellites can instantly flow into military networks.
Artificial intelligence (Edge AI): Promotion of data processing technologies directly on board the satellite, to transmit only useful information, and not "raw" gigabytes.
Sustainability of supply chains: Coordination among small companies to protect against component shortages and cyber threats.
This change is taking place against the background of that, as the Space Development Agency (SDA) has already successfully deployed the first levels of its "combat architecture". Now the industry is moving from the "how to run it" phase to the "how to make it all work as a single organism" phase.
Source: https://spacenews.com