SpaceNews.com
• Sandra Erwin
An increasingly competitive market is forming around in-orbit propulsion, a capability military satellites have historically used sparingly. Growing defense demand is creating new commercial opportunities for propulsion technologies that can extend satellite maneuverability and expand the operational utility of space assets after launch.
Space Defense & Militarization
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An increasingly competitive market is forming around in-orbit propulsion, a capability military satellites have historically used sparingly. Growing defense demand is creating new commercial opportunities for propulsion technologies that can extend satellite maneuverability and expand the operational utility of space assets after launch.
Telesat will provide secure Military Ka-band connectivity across Canada’s Arctic to the Canadian Armed Forces under the Enhanced Satellite Communications Project–Polar program. The contract, the largest in Telesat’s six-decade history, expands the Lightspeed constellation to 225 satellites and includes 27 additional MDA Space-built AURORA satellites valued at C$474 million.
K2 has been selected to test satellite-to-satellite optical communications for the U.S. Space Force, a technology central to planned missile-warning and tracking networks. The capability is also expected to support the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile-defense architecture.
True Anomaly said it became the first company to conduct an in-space pursuit of an evading target, as part of VICTUS HAZE. The U.S. Space Force mission is intended to demonstrate operational capabilities for tracking and pursuing maneuvering objects in orbit.
Hisdesat selected Airbus and Thales Alenia Space to build SpainSat NG-III, while Eutelsat and Poland advanced cooperation on Europe’s IRIS² secure communications program. Separately, SES agreed to support Starlab’s commercial space station and provide multi-orbit connectivity across LATAM Airlines’ Airbus and Embraer fleet.
Earth observation companies increasingly present defense and security applications as a second market alongside climate and commercial work. But framing the capability as “dual-use” may leave governments controlling when and how it is deployed—potentially pushing commercial customers behind state priorities when strategic demands intensify.
The U.S. Space Force awarded K2 Space a $22.9 million contract to test optical communications terminals that transmit data directly between satellites in orbit. The demonstration will assess laser-based crosslinks, a technology intended to support faster and more resilient space-based data networks.
Space Force leaders are developing ways to demonstrate the operational realities of conflict in orbit to lawmakers, who can observe exercises involving tanks, warships and combat aircraft but lack an equivalent view of space operations. The challenge reflects the speed, distance and extended timelines that shape satellite encounters.
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