2 December 2025 2018, the US Space Force's chief procurement officer, Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, told an audience of space industry leaders, that the Pentagon's future in orbit will depend on how effectively it manages to attract private sector innovation.
Speaking at the SpaceNews Icon Awards 2025, General Purdy noted, that the pace of progress outside government actually dictates the agenda of that, as the service develops technologies for space operations and space warfare. The Space Force will not be able to create the future of military space power without constant interaction with private industry. He emphasized, that much of technology, which are currently in the early stages of development at Space Force, are funded through the Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) - the federal fund of initial financing, which has supported commercial experimentation in the defense and aerospace sectors for decades. The program has expired 30 September, and Congress still hasn't extended it. Because of this, new competitions and issuance of SBIR grants have already been stopped throughout the Department of Defense, including the Cosmic Forces.
The Space Force relies heavily on SBIR, because they consider commercial space as a fast testing ground. According to the model of Cosmic forces, early-stage SBIR contracts provide startups with small infusions of capital. Companies, which demonstrate real technical progress, may then qualify for Tactical Funding Increase agreements (TACFI) і Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI). These programs require companies to attract private capital, combining public funds with venture capital investments, to accelerate development and reduce risks.
General Purdy also talked about the Space Force's efforts to extend its success in the procurement of launch services to other areas. In the Pentagon, according to him, paid attention, how the service structured the National Security Space Launch program (NSSL), to bring new players into national security missions, while maintaining reliability for the most sensitive payloads. The latest version of this scheme is NSSL Phase 3 - uses the strategy of two "lanes" of contracts. Strip 1 designed for commercial missions, which can tolerate greater variability
by schedule or specifications, and gives new or non-traditional suppliers a real chance to compete. Strip 2 reserved for the most demanding national security payloads, where strict certification and proven reliability are required. This structure is designed to reduce the government's dependence on a small number of suppliers, while maintaining protective barriers for missions.
Source: https://spacenews.com