Space Force Front Door fosters international partnerships at inaugural event

Published July 17, 2025
By Alex Chang
Space Systems Command Public Affairs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AFNS) -- The U.S. Space Force Front Door, a commercial partner engagement office embedded within Space Systems Command, expanded its outreach beyond U.S. based enterprises with its inaugural Joint Briefing on Acquisition Pathways for Allied Commercial Space Vendors.

The event coincided with the 2025 National Space Symposium in anticipation of the recently released USSF International Partnership Strategy to unify like-minded nations’ efforts in the space domain.

From left, Zoe Nelson, Front Door acquisition program manager; U.S. Air Force Maj. Brian Crouse, Headquarters U.S. Space Force, Global Partnerships Directorate; and U.S. Army Maj. Robert Perez-Alemany, technical program manager, space portfolio, Defense Innovation Unit & Space Development Agency, look on as U.S. Air Force Col. Jeffrey Naff, director of Foreign Comparative Testing, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, addresses a group of international vendors and government partners in Colorado Springs, Colo. April 9, 2025. U.S. Space Force Front Door hosted the inaugural event, welcoming over 100 international vendors representing 13 countries looking to partner with the Department of Defense and other governmental agencies within the space domain. (Courtesy Photo) — Zoe Nelson, Front Door acquisition program manager; U.S. Air Force Maj. Brian Crouse, Headquarters U.S. Space Force, Global Partnerships Directorate; and U.S. Army Maj. Robert Perez-Alemany, technical program manager, space portfolio, Defense Innovation Unit and Space Development Agency, look on as U.S. Air Force Col. Jeffrey Naff, director of Foreign Comparative Testing, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, addresses a group of international vendors and government partners in Colorado Springs, Colo. April 9, 2025. U.S. Space Force Front Door hosted the inaugural event, welcoming over 100 international vendors representing 13 countries looking to partner with the Department of Defense and other governmental agencies within the space domain. (Courtesy photo)

Zoe Nelson, Acquisition program manager at Front Door and a key organizer of the event, noted that the robust attendance revealed both an intense global interest in commercial U.S. defense space opportunities as well as the persistent challenges in navigating them.

Held in close proximity to the Space Symposium conference venue, the Front Door event drew more than 100 international vendors and government partners to the Innovation Hub, a collaborative partnership space managed by VT-ARC for SSC and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

Presentations and networking opportunities explored pathways for allied commercial space collaboration with the Department of Defense and other governmental agencies.

"I'm really thrilled with the results,” Nelson said. “The fact that we brought together over 100 vendors and U.S. government partners to attend this event that was off campus is a testament to the interest in this challenge."

The genesis of the event started with a simple meeting between Kara Hernandez, an Aerospace Corporation contractor supporting Front Door, and the U.K. Department of Business and Trade. Once Front Door’s attendance at the symposium was confirmed, "we thought we might as well make this an open event and try to really deliver value versus doing a bunch of individual meetings," Nelson explained. After gaining the U.K. delegation’s approval to expand participation, 114 vendors from 12 nations joined the list of attendees.

Front Door also invited a group of U.S. government speakers to illuminate various engagement routes apart from Front Door. This included representatives from U.S. Space Force’s Global Partnerships Directorate, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering’s Foreign Comparative Testing program, and the Defense Innovation Unit’s space portfolio.

Nelson emphasized the strategic importance of working with international partners.

"In my view, it's beneficial to work with international or foreign vendors in part to try to deliver interoperability between architectures," she said, citing the importance of "resiliency through redundancy" of critical space infrastructure, and accessing advanced technologies where allies might have more experience and production capability.

The success of the event, particularly given the shortened window for planning, has energized the team. During next year’s symposium, Front Door aims to host a similar event. Plans include inviting key partners like the Air Force Research Laboratory and more directly identifying and addressing specific roadblocks for international vendors.

In addition to refining pathways for international vendors to work with Space Force, Nelson said Front Door has and will continue to provide advisory support to allies, such as the United Kingdom, as they build out their own "Front Door" equivalents modeled after the USSF’s Front Door portal. "I'm really excited for the day when we get everyone on board in utilizing these capabilities," Nelson said.