**Location and Event**: The information is reported from Orlando, Florida. U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM) is updating its approach to integrate commercial systems into its operations, aligning with broader national security initiatives.
**Key Figures**: General Stephen Whiting leads SPACECOM. He discussed the new strategy which was signed in November.
**Strategy Overview**: The updated strategy focuses on SPACECOM’s core tasks and how commercial space capabilities integrate into those tasks. This update comes alongside two high-level commercial integration strategies released earlier in the year by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Space Force.
**Goal of Engagement**: The strategies aim to encourage the Defense Department to engage more with private space companies, looking for off-the-shelf systems and developing concepts for leveraging commercial technologies in conflict.
**Commercial Space Office**: Last year, the Space Force established a Commercial Space Office tasked with identifying opportunities for acquiring commercial systems and services. They are also creating the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve (CASR) for partnerships with private sectors that could provide capabilities during crises or wars.
**Operational Plans**: Speaking at the Spacepower Conference, Whiting noted the main focus of SPACECOM involves advocating for new capabilities, operationalizing technology, and sharing threat information with commercial partners.
**Collaboration with Space Force**: Whiting emphasized the collaborative efforts with the Space Force to assess operational conditions that may necessitate increased capacity from CASR based on mission needs. He indicated that commercial support under CASR could occur in phases depending on the crisis context.
**Commercial Integration Cell**: Established in 2015, this cell engages the private sector to assist military operators in resolving orbital issues. Membership recently expanded from 10 to 15 companies, with plans to add two more. Members have access to classified space threat information.
**New Members**: The five newly added companies—BlackSky, Kratos, ICEYE, LeoLabs, and Telesat—provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to agencies like the National Reconnaissance Office and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.
**Protection of Commercial Assets**: For the first time, SPACECOM has included private sector systems on its list of critical space assets, which puts the command under obligation to protect these commercial capabilities when directed.
**Author Information**: The article is reported by Courtney Albon, a C4ISRNET space and emerging technology reporter, who has been covering the U.S. military since 2012.
