Partnering Not Bossing: Better Leveraging International Capabilities for Space Domain Awareness

Observers have long called for the United States national security space enterprise to be more interoperable with allies to achieve U.S. and allied goals, but nations contributing to coalition space domain awareness (SDA) face barriers to such interoperability. The United States has found it difficult to incorporate SDA data from allies and partners due to many technical challenges and policy constraints. However, recent U.S. adoption of a more flexible calibration approach; newly designed tiered data integration levels; and updated, reconceptualized sharing agreements showcase progress is being made in improving interoperability with international partners for space domain awareness.

Authors: Lauren Hale, Justin Last, Jordan De Namur-Paul, Richard Barber