Partnership ensures space superiority by improving software development for space defense

Published Nov. 21, 2024
By Edgar Nava, Space Systems Command Public Affairs

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AFNS) -- In 2022, Space Systems Command formally partnered with the University of Southern California as part of the USSF’s University Partnership Program via a Memorandum of Understanding.

“Partnering to win is a key component of ensuring space superiority. It is an indispensable pre-requisite to the success of the Joint Force,” said Col. Matthew Spencer, commander of SSC’s Positioning, Navigation and Timing Program Systems Delta with the Military Communications and Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Program Executive Office.

“Our partnerships with joint, coalition, international, interagency, academic, and commercial stakeholders act as critical force multipliers and expand our competitive advantage,” he continued.

USC was the first university in California and one of 14 universities nationwide originally selected to join USSF’s University Partnership Program based on the quality of their STEM degree offerings and their space-related research laboratories and initiatives; robust ROTC programs; diverse student populations; and degrees and academic programs designed to support military, veterans and their families in pursuing higher education. Research and leadership development are the largest facets of the program.

Recently, SSC and USC partnered up to pair USC Trojans with SSC Guardians to work within real USSF programs. This partnership team acted as a “living laboratory” to identify strategies for implementing agile development into complex defense projects. Specifically, their study comprises a series of case studies focused on software for spacecrafts — or as they’re commonly known, satellites.

GPS is a “dual use” technology key to both national security and economic prosperity. It is an essential ‘silent’ utility in IT and cybersecurity, transportation, economic development, and sustainment of day-to-day life around the world. From GPS navigation to digital transactions, to missile detection and intelligence gathering, nearly every aspect of modern military and civil operations rely on satellites orbiting high above Earth.

The joint team worked across three distinct software projects for spacecraft command and control, whose exact nature are confidential. These projects encompass a traditional waterfall approach, a 50/50 hybrid of waterfall and agile methods, and a predominantly agile model, providing a spectrum of methodologies for comparative analysis.

By working directly with USSF Guardians from Space System Command, the team gained unprecedented access to real-time project information, such as contractor data, offering project workflow insights that were previously unavailable to government oversight.

The findings (and recommendations) from this joint study are already influencing Department of Defense acquisition practices, according to Mike Orosz, a research director at USC Viterbi’s Information Sciences Institute, and Brian Duffy, a Senior Systems Engineer at ISI who worked on the study. The team has informed the Secretary of Defense’s office on agile best practices, and their documents have been distributed throughout the Pentagon’s acquisition workforce.

“Innovative academic research guards against technical surprise, provides novel technology that strengthens our power projection, and ensures our Guardians are prepared for modern warfare and the high intensity fight,” Spencer said.

“Collaborations such as these are a great example of ‘exploiting what we have,’ not only because we’re strengthening our mutually beneficial partnerships, but also because we’re always finding new ways to delve insights from existing data and systems,” he continued.

Partnerships such as these not only provide a tactical and strategic edge, but they also help to deepen connections with stakeholders by amplifying the Guardian spirit and culture.

In fact, Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, SSC commander, serves as USC’s Champion under the USSF’s UPP, designed to further the service’s ability to recruit and educate a diverse and tech-savvy Guardian workforce, create opportunities for advanced academic degrees, open channels for ROTC scholarships, and establish world-class research opportunities.

Air and Space Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps Detachment 060 Cadets from USC recently visited SSC at Los Angeles Air Force Base to speak with Garrant to learn about SSC’s mission and critical role ensuring the nation’s superiority in the increasingly contested space domain.