Making Connections
The establishment of the U.S. Space Force (USSF) in 2019 marked a new era in national security, recognizing space as a distinct domain of operations. With this new service came a pressing challenge: how to equip its operators, known as Guardians, with cutting-edge technology at the speed of commercial innovation. Historically, government procurement has been a slow, bureaucratic process, often taking years or even decades to move a concept from a blueprint to a fielded system. In the rapidly evolving space sector, this timeline is no longer viable.
To solve this problem, the Department of the Air Force created SpaceWERX. Launched in 2021, SpaceWERX functions as the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force (USSF) and is a division within the broader AFWERX organization. In turn, AFWERX is part of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the primary research and development center for both the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force (USSF).
This article provides a detailed examination of SpaceWERX, its structure, its key programs, and its method for connecting the energy of the private sector with the urgent needs of the nation’s space service.
The Problem: The Valley of Death
To understand why SpaceWERX exists, one must first appreciate the problem it was designed to solve. In government contracting, this problem is famously known as the “Valley of Death.” It describes the perilous gap between a promising new technology – often developed by a small business or a university research lab – and its actual adoption as a “program of record” within the military.
Traditionally, a startup might win a small government contract to prove a concept. Once that initial funding runs out it faces a significant challenge. The next step requires much more capital to build a full prototype, test it, and navigate the complex requirements of the defense bureaucracy. This next-level funding is often too large for a small innovation grant but too small and too risky for the military’s massive, multi-billion dollar acquisition programs.
Without a clear customer or a path to a larger contract, promising companies and their technologies wither. Private investors, wary of the slow and uncertain government market, are often hesitant to provide the necessary bridge funding. The result is that innovative solutions die in the “valley” long before they can reach the Guardians who need them. SpaceWERX was created to be the bridge over this valley.
The SpaceWERX Model: A New Philosophy
SpaceWERX operates on a fundamentally different philosophy from traditional defense procurement. Instead of issuing rigid, 100-page requirement documents for a specific piece of hardware, it acts as a venture catalyst and ecosystem builder. Its mission is to lower the barrier to entry for innovators and pull commercial technology into the defense orbit.
It does this by serving as the “front door” for the space industry to engage with the U.S. Space Force (USSF). It provides tools, funding, and connections to help companies, academics, and internal government innovators navigate the bureaucracy. Its entire structure is built around three core divisions: Space Ventures, Space Prime, and Space Spark.
Space Ventures: Fueling the Innovation Engine
Space Ventures is the investment arm of SpaceWERX. It’s the primary mechanism for finding and funding external innovation, primarily through two long-standing government programs: the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program.
While these programs have existed for decades, SpaceWERX wields them with a new agility, most notably through its “Open Topic” solicitations.
The Open Topic Approach
In the past, an SBIR topic might be incredibly specific, such as “Develop a 3-inch bracket made of X-material capable of Y-tolerance.” This limited the pool of applicants to only those companies already working on that exact problem.
The SpaceWERX Open Topic approach, pioneered by AFWERX, flips the script. The solicitation is broad, essentially asking, “What innovative technology do you have that could help the U.S. Space Force (USSF)?” This allows companies working on breakthrough technologies – like artificial intelligence, advanced materials, or novel propulsion – to propose solutions the government may not even know it needs.
This method widens the aperture, attracting startups and non-traditional businesses that would never have considered bidding on a niche defense contract. The process is famously fast, with companies often receiving initial contracts in weeks or months, not years.
The Three-Phase Process
For a small business, the SpaceWERX Ventures process typically follows three phases:
- Phase I: Feasibility. A company with a promising idea applies to an Open Topic solicitation. If selected, it receives a Phase I contract, typically a smaller award (e.g., $75,000) for a short period (e.g., three months). The goal is not to build a product but to explore the idea’s technical merit and feasibility. The company also uses this time for “customer discovery” – meeting with actual USSF units and end-users (Guardians) to see if its proposed technology solves a real-world problem.
- Phase II: Prototyping. If the Phase I work is successful and the company finds a clear government need, it can apply for a Phase II contract. This is a much more substantial award, often worth over $1 million, designed to fund the development of a functional prototype. This is where the technology is built, tested, and demonstrated.
- Phase III: Commercialization. This is the goal. A Phase III contract is not funded by the SBIR program itself. Instead, it’s a sole-source acquisition contract from a government customer (like a USSF unit) to purchase the company’s product or service. This phase signifies a successful transition from research to operational use.
STRATFI and TACFI: Bridging the Valley
SpaceWERX recognized that the leap from a successful Phase II prototype to a full-scale Phase III production contract is where the “Valley of Death” is deepest. To address this, it uses two powerful funding mechanisms: the Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) and the Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI).
These programs are designed to provide the important bridge funding. They are not grants; they are matching programs. A company with a successful Phase II contract and a committed USSF end-user can apply. If selected, the SpaceWERX program will match, often dollar-for-dollar or more, the funds that the government customer and private investors are willing to put in.
This model is powerful for several reasons:
- It validates the technology. Private investment signals that the commercial market believes in the product’s viability.
- It ensures a government customer. A USSF program office must commit its own budget, proving there is a real, validated need for the solution.
- It leverages capital. It multiplies the power of the government’s innovation dollars, attracting private capital that would otherwise sit on the sidelines.
In 2025, for example, SpaceWERX announced its selection of several companies for the Program Year 2025 STRATFI program, demonstrating its continued use of this tool to scale promising technologies from prototype to production. This mechanism has been used to fund companies working on everything from in-space servicing and manufacturing to advanced software and launch systems, including firms like Orbit Fab and ABL Space Systems.
Space Prime: Creating New Commercial Markets
While Space Ventures reacts to and funds existing innovation, Space Prime is designed to create and shapenew commercial markets that are vital for national security.
The “Prime” concept involves the U.S. Space Force (USSF) acting as an anchor tenant and early customer for a nascent industrial sector. By signaling a clear demand and providing key funding and support, SpaceWERX “primes the pump.” It gives private investors the confidence to fund a new generation of startups, knowing that a major government customer is already at the table.
This accelerates the development of a commercial market that the USSF can then simply buy services from, rather than having to own and operate the entire capability itself. The first and most prominent initiative under Space Prime is known as Orbital Prime.
Orbital Prime: Cleaning Up Space
Orbital Prime is focused on a critical emerging field: On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (OSAM). The immediate use case for this technology is Active Debris Remediation (ADR), or the monumental task of cleaning up space debris.
Low Earth Orbit is increasingly congested with defunct satellites, spent rocket stages, and fragmentation debris. This junk travels at tens of thousands of miles per hour and poses a catastrophic threat to active satellites, human spaceflight missions, and the long-term sustainability of the space domain.
Through Orbital Prime, SpaceWERX is stimulating a commercial market for services that can rendezvous with, capture, and safely de-orbit this dangerous debris. The program uses STTR and SBIR contracts to fund a wide array of companies developing the foundational technologies needed for this mission:
- Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO): Technologies that allow a servicing satellite to safely approach and fly in formation with another object, whether it’s a cooperative satellite or a piece of tumbling debris.
- Capture Mechanisms: Advanced robotic arms, tethers, nets, or harpoons designed to securely grab an object in space.
- Servicing and De-orbiting: This includes capabilities to repair, refuel, or reposition a satellite. For debris, it means attaching a propulsion system to push the junk into a decaying orbit where it will burn up in the atmosphere.
The goal of Orbital Prime is not for the USSF to build its own fleet of “space tow trucks.” Instead, it’s to accelerate the creation of a robust commercial industry – featuring companies like Orbit Fab (focused on in-space refueling) and others – that can sell these services to both government and commercial customers. The USSF would then be just one of many customers, purchasing debris removal or satellite-servicing missions as needed.
Orbital Prime has a stated goal of conducting an on-orbit demonstration of these capabilities within a highly accelerated timeline, showcasing the “Prime” model’s power to rapidly mature an entire industry.
Space Spark: Igniting Internal Innovation
The third pillar of SpaceWERX is Space Spark. While Ventures and Prime look outward to industry and academia, Spark looks inward. Its mission is to find and empower the innovators already serving within the U.S. Space Force (USSF) – the Guardians.
Guardians are the operators on the front lines, and they often have the best insights into the problems and inefficiencies of their daily missions. A Guardian at a ground station may have a brilliant idea for a piece of software that could automate a tedious process, but in the traditional hierarchy, that idea has nowhere to go. Space Spark provides the pathway.
Spark Cells
The foundation of the Spark program is the “Spark Cell.” These are grassroots innovation hubs stood up at USSF bases around the world. A Spark Cell is often little more than a small, dedicated team with a modest budget, but its impact is significant. It provides Guardians with:
- A Physical Space: Often a “makerspace” with tools like 3D printers, software development kits, and collaboration areas.
- Mentorship: Connections to experts who can help them refine their idea, build a business case, and navigate the system.
- Seed Funding: Small amounts of capital to buy parts, develop a minimum viable product, or travel to pitch their idea to leadership.
- A Community: A network of like-minded, innovative Guardians who can collaborate and share lessons learned.
Spark Tank
The most visible part of the Spark program is the annual “Spark Tank” competition. Modeled after the popular “Shark Tank” television show, this event allows Airmen and Guardians to pitch their best ideas directly to the highest levels of Air Force and Space Force leadership, as well as to industry experts.
This isn’t just for show. The winners receive real funding and high-level support to turn their pitches into reality. It creates a virtuous cycle: it celebrates innovation, rewards intrapreneurs, and signals to the entire force that good ideas are valued, no matter their source.
Through Spark, SpaceWERX is fostering a culture of bottom-up innovation, ensuring that the Guardians operating the systems have a direct hand in improving them.
The Ecosystem: Colliders, Challenges, and Hubs
SpaceWERX does not operate in a vacuum. A major part of its work is actively curating an “ecosystem” of innovation. It brings together the disparate parts of the community – startups, investors, academics, government labs, and end-users – and forces them to “collide.”
Colliders and Challenges
SpaceWERX regularly hosts “Collider” events. These are fast-paced, focused events where a USSF organization presents a specific, hard problem. Small businesses and researchers are then invited to pitch their potential solutions directly to the problem-holders. It’s a form of high-speed matchmaking, breaking down the walls that normally separate the end-user from the innovator.
Similarly, it runs focused “Challenges,” often in partnership with other organizations. The Hyperspace Challenge, for example, is an annual accelerator program that SpaceWERX supports. It calls for companies to solve specific problem sets, such as improving modeling and simulation for USSF training. The 2025 Hyperspace Challenge, for instance, sought innovators to advance the USSF’s operational test and training infrastructure.
Participants in these challenges receive mentorship, training, and direct access to government and industry leaders, dramatically accelerating their path into the defense market.
The SpaceWERX Hub
To anchor this ecosystem, SpaceWERX is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, deliberately placing it outside a traditional military base and in the heart of the nation’s aerospace and venture capital industries. This “SpaceWERX Hub” is co-located with key partners, including the Space Systems Command (SSC), which is the USSF’s primary organization for developing and acquiring new space systems.
This co-location is strategic. It allows innovators funded by SpaceWERX to walk down the hall and talk directly with the SSC program managers who will one day be their customers. SpaceWERX has also established partnerships with organizations like The Aerospace Corporation, a non-profit Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC). Together, they run programs like a “Technology Readiness Level (TRL) bootcamp” to help companies understand and navigate the rigorous technical standards required for spaceflight hardware.
This entire ecosystem is designed to maximize collisions and accelerate transitions, moving technology from the lab to the launchpad at unprecedented speed.
Summary
SpaceWERX represents a new model for military innovation. It is the U.S. Space Force’s dedicated answer to the challenges of the 21st-century space domain, where speed and agility are paramount. By acting as a venture catalyst, market-maker, and ecosystem builder, it is systematically breaking down the “Valley of Death.”
Through the Space Ventures division, it uses flexible contracting tools like SBIR and STRATFI to fund and scale promising technologies from small businesses. Through Space Prime, it is strategically creating new commercial markets, starting with the Orbital Prime initiative to clean up space debris. And through Space Spark, it is empowering the USSF’s own Guardians to innovate from the ground up.
By connecting the dynamism of the commercial industry with the urgent needs of the warfighter, SpaceWERX is working to ensure the U.S. Space Force (USSF) remains equipped with the most advanced technology in the world.
