The U.S. Space Force was founded to secure national interests in, from, and to space. These three prepositions are more than mission statements—they define how we compete in today’s high-stakes, “Space Race.” Yet the effectiveness of this mission depends not only on capability, but on integration.

Testing space systems on orbit is costly, constrained, and risky. Yet readiness in space cannot be theoretical. In a contested domain where launch cycles are long and failure is costly, the United States must validate its capabilities before they leave Earth.

In 2008, the number of tracked objects in orbit was just over 9,500. Today, that number exceeds 47,000—and rising. Satellites, debris, and maneuverable platforms crowd every regime from LEO to GEO. “The space domain is now much more congested, populated by systems of various sizes, different orbital regimes, and operated by adversaries as well as ourselves,” explains Dave Meteyer, Group Lead