RAND Space Enterprise Initiative

Focus Areas

The initiative builds on long-standing RAND relationships across the national and international space domains to marshal the broad perspectives necessary for optimizing the exercise of space power.

Space Policy and Strategy

The initiative offers U.S. space policy sponsors unmatched synergies by connecting the results of space policy research done for a wide spectrum of U.S. agencies, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Intelligence Community, the Space Force, and USSPACECOM. RAND's research spans the work of these and other U.S. agencies. The initiative links, informs, and reinforces projects of mutual interest.

Space Operations

The initiative offers uniquely high value to sponsors seeking assistance with space operations, given the RAND operations research already being performed for U.S. military services and RAND's ability to spot the linkages between service operations and space operations, even when the topic of a service project is not directly related to space.

Space Capabilities and Resources

RAND's extensive engineering expertise drives capability and resource decisions across numerous U.S. and allied defense agencies. By serving as a hub for research on space capabilities and resources, with expertise emanating from all programs across RAND, the initiative offers sponsors greater insights than those that could be obtained by relying on any single research division.

Space Allies and Partners

Drawing on its international reach and experience, RAND provides valuable insights and recommendations to national security sponsors around the world. The RAND Space Enterprise Initiative provides an additional means for sponsors to collaborate with global allies and partners to create mutually beneficial relationships and opportunities in space.

The War in Ukraine: Lessons for the Space Domain

Bruce McClintock, Space Enterprise Initiative lead, joined experts from MITRE and the Aerospace Corporation to examine lessons for the space domain from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This panel is from the West Coast Aerospace Forum held in December 2022.

Latest Space Publications

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  Coherence to Choices: Informing Decisions on Public-Private Partnerships in the Space Sector May 3, 2023

  Moon Kim

  Presents a comprehensive set of research on the topic of space public-private partnerships to move forward from the rudimentary discourse to critical discussions and analytical investigations.

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  The Resilience Assessment Framework: Assessing Commercial Contributions to U.S. Space Force Mission Resilience April 27, 2023

  Osonde A. Osoba, George Nacouzi, Jeff Hagen, Jonathan Tran, Li Ang Zhang, Marissa Herron, Christopher Lynch, Mel Eisman, Charles Barton

  This report describes the resilience assessment framework that RAND Project AIR FORCE developed to assess the potential impact of integrating select commercial space services on U.S. Space Force (USSF) mission performance. Applying the framework to two example USSF missions, the authors show how the framework could provide a principled and flexible evaluation method for various USSF missions.

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Latest Commentary

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