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Global Lightning 20 Concludes with Greatest Commercial Participation to Date

By 1st Lt. Tyler Whiting, United States Space Force Public Affairs / Published February 10, 2020

Col. Scott D. Brodeur, Director, Combined Space Operations Center, and Commander, 614th Air Operations Center, poses for a photo with executives from commercial companies during a Commercial Integration Cell executive session at the Combined Space Operations Center at Vandenberg AFB, Feb. 4, 2020. The CIC is a collaborative government and industry effort to integrate commercial satellite owners and operators into the CSpOC to pursue greater cooperation and synergy in the space environment.
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Col. Scott D. Brodeur, Director, Combined Space Operations Center, and Commander, 614th Air Operations Center, poses for a photo with executives from commercial companies during a Commercial Integration Cell executive session at the Combined Space Operations Center at Vandenberg AFB, Feb. 4, 2020. The CIC is a collaborative government and industry effort to integrate commercial satellite owners and operators into the CSpOC to pursue greater cooperation and synergy in the space environment.

Maj. Gen. John E. Shaw, Combined Force Space Component Commander, U.S. Space Command, and Commander, Space Operations Command, U.S. Space Force, spoke with executives from commercial companies about past and future opportunities during a Commercial Integration Cell executive session at Headquarters Space Operations Command at Vandenberg AFB, Feb. 4, 2020. During the session Shaw and the executives discussed CIC collaboration, to include planning for contingencies, identifying operational requirements through exercises and war games, mutually beneficial exchanges of information, and enhancing connectivity between military and commercial space operations centers.
PHOTO DETAILS  /   DOWNLOAD HI-RES 2 of 2

Maj. Gen. John E. Shaw, Combined Force Space Component Commander, U.S. Space Command, and Commander, Space Operations Command, U.S. Space Force, spoke with executives from commercial companies about past and future opportunities during a Commercial Integration Cell executive session at Headquarters Space Operations Command at Vandenberg AFB, Feb. 4, 2020. During the session Shaw and the executives discussed CIC collaboration, to include planning for contingencies, identifying operational requirements through exercises and war games, mutually beneficial exchanges of information, and enhancing connectivity between military and commercial space operations centers.

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VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Exercise Global Lightning 20 successfully concluded with the most commercial partnership participation to date at the Combined Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base Jan. 30.

This year civilian personnel from seven commercial companies affiliated with the Commercial Integration Cell supported the exercise by rapidly identifying, diagnosing and resolving on-orbit requirements, while also increasing the overall resilience of Combined Force Space Component Command operations at the CSpOC.

The CIC is a collaborative government and industry effort to integrate commercial satellite owners and operators into the CSpOC to pursue greater cooperation and synergy in the space environment.

GL20 provided training opportunities for commercial partners, U.S. Space Command, U.S. Space Force headquarters staff, and participating components, to integrate and synchronize space effects in support of multi-domain operations across several combatant commands.

“We are teaming in new ways with our commercial partners to integrate their agile and rapid solutions, to enhance our resiliency, and to defend our warfighters,” said Maj. Gen. John E. Shaw, Combined Force Space Component Commander, U.S. Space Command, and Commander, Space Operations Command, U.S. Space Force. “With our partnerships in the Commercial Integration Cell, we are much better postured to protect our assets in space and our forces on earth.”

Maximizing CIC participation during GL20 enhanced classified and unclassified communication and planning between military and commercial participants, increasing commercial partners’ understanding of unique Department of Defense requirements during national crisis and contingencies.

Companies comprising the CIC are Eutelsat America Corp., Inmarsat, Intelsat General Communications, Iridium Communications, MAXAR Technologies, SES Government Solutions, Viasat, and XTAR.

Space capabilities provided by CIC partners include, but are not limited to Low Earth Orbit, Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit, and satellites with multiband communication support, mobility communications, voice and data connections, spatial and space-based technology solutions, and terrestrial imagining.

“When our commercial partners came to participate this year they left their companies’ badge at home and became part of the total force,” said Col. Scott D. Brodeur, Director, Combined Space Operations Center, and Commander, 614th Air Operations Center. “They are a critical element of our integrated satellite communications and imagery architecture. We are proud to work alongside our commercial partners to protect our nations’ interests, and to protect the space domain for future generations to come.”