The RFI explains that SDA is looking to potential contractors to supply “concepts for rapid prototyping, risk-reduction efforts that could be demonstrated in less than 18 months” that link to its proposed architecture.

Newly proposed licensing rules for commercial remote sensing will eliminate automatic DoD review rights for of a majority of applications.

“Security in space is different than security on Earth,” says Jeb Linton of IBM Watson. “If you lose command and control for even five minutes, your satellite could be completely shut down.”