Space Force, NASA reaffirm partnership in new MOU

The Space Force and NASA signed a memorandum of understanding this week reaffirming their partnership and committing to continued collaboration in space launch, operations and research.

NASA and the Defense Department have a history of collaboration and have maintained similar agreements prior to the creation of the Space Force. The document notes that while historical areas for cooperation have included launch and range safety, space communications and space situational awareness -- among others -- new opportunities for partnership will likely arise.

"As NASA's human presence extends beyond the [International Space Station] to the lunar surface, cislunar and interplanetary destinations, and as USSF organizes, trains and equips to provide resources necessary to protect and defend vital U.S. interests in and beyond Earth-orbit, new collaborations will be key to operating safely and securely on these distant frontiers," the MOU states.

Among those opportunities for further collaboration, the MOU highlights both agencies' need for additional space domain awareness capabilities and the possibility for sharing technology and data as each develops its own future architecture.

"Both parties are at current capability limits for extending SDA beyond geosynchronous orbit and addressing the need for Near Earth Orbit detection and tracking," the MOU states. "However, there is considerable overlap between the technologies required to enable NEO detection and for SDA beyond geosynchronous orbit, such as the USSF Space Surveillance Telescope."

It continues: "The parties will most effectively achieve their respective goals through collaboration in a strategic and proactive manner as each establishes its own mission architectures."

The MOU highlights several other areas for future partnership, including: capabilities and practices that enable safe near-Earth and cislunar operations; search, rescue and recovery for human space flight; launch support; space logistics and supply support; ride shares and hosted payloads; and interoperable spacecraft communications networks.