International Affairs
Washington Updates: New Chief of Space Operations
Written by: Jeff Gardner
What You Need to Know:
- The Senate confirms Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess as Chief of Space Operations.
- Europe agrees to expand the planned IRIS² satellite constellation.
- Rocket Lab unveils a deployable launch system for suborbital and orbital missions.
United States Space Policy Updates
- The Senate confirms Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess to serve as the next Chief of Space Operations. Schiess, who currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Space Operations, will succeed Gen. Chance Saltzman, becoming the Space Force’s third lead. During his confirmation testimony, Schiess focused on the need for in-space deterrence and the threats from foreign technological advancements. (USSF, Aug. 7)
- NASA delays the next ISS spacewalk to Tuesday, Aug. 18. (NASA, Aug. 10)
- The Senate confirms Roger Mason to lead the National Reconnaissance Office. (Breaking Defense, Aug. 7)
- A bipartisan pair of senators introduce the Space Superiority Readiness Act, looking to boost defense in orbit. (Payload, Aug. 11)
- Jay Schwarz announces his resignation as chief of the FCC’s space bureau. (SpaceNews, Aug. 7)
International Space Policy Updates
- The European Union agrees to expand the IRIS² internet constellation, adding 66 units for a total of 348 satellites. The full constellation is valued around $18 billion, and its first group of satellites are scheduled for launch in 2029. According to the European Commission, this expansion to Iris² will strengthen capabilities for defense, security and emergency services to EU member states.
(European Commission, Aug. 6) - MDA Space opens the Chorus Control Centre as a satellite operations hub in Québec. (Canadian Defense Review, Aug. 11)
- Vietnam’s VinSpace signs an agreement with SpaceX to launch satellites on a 2027 rideshare mission. (Reuters, Aug. 10)
- A Chinese Long March 7A rocket explodes roughly a minute after takeoff. (Space.com, Aug. 10)
- The Italian Space Agency appoints Mario Cospito as special commissioner. (European Spaceflight, Aug. 11)
Space Industry Updates
- Rocket Lab unveils GHOST, a globally deployable launch system for suborbital and orbital missions. GHOST (Global Hypersonic & Orbital Spaceport Technology) is packaged entirely within standard shipping containers and deploys launch infrastructure, ground support, and range control systems anywhere in the world. The system works both with Rocket Lab’s Electron and HASTE rockets. GHOST is scheduled to debut with a suborbital launch from the Pacific Spaceport Complex at Kodiak, Alaska in 2027. (Rocket Lab, Aug. 10)
- GalaxEye acquires spacecraft engineering company StarOps.
(Business Standard, Aug. 10) - MDA Space will repurpose Canadarm3 for the Artemis program after Lunar Gateway’s cancellation. (MDA, Aug. 6)
- ULA completed a wet dress rehearsal of the Vulcan rocket at Cape Canaveral.
(ULA, Aug. 6)
Facts Only
* Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess was confirmed as Chief of Space Operations by the Senate.
* Schiess will succeed Gen. Chance Saltzman and become the Space Force’s third lead.
* Schiess focused his confirmation testimony on in-space deterrence and foreign technological advancements.
* NASA delayed the next ISS spacewalk to Tuesday, August 18.
* Roger Mason was confirmed to lead the National Reconnaissance Office.
* A bipartisan pair of senators introduced the Space Superiority Readiness Act.
* Jay Schwarz announced his resignation as chief of the FCC’s space bureau.
* The European Union agreed to expand the IRIS² internet constellation by adding 66 satellites, totaling 348 units.
* MDA Space opened the Chorus Control Centre as a satellite operations hub in Québec.
* Vietnam’s VinSpace signed an agreement with SpaceX for a 2027 rideshare mission.
* Rocket Lab unveiled GHOST, a deployable launch system operating with Electron and HASTE rockets.
* GalaxEye acquired the spacecraft engineering company StarOps.
* ULA completed a wet dress rehearsal of the Vulcan rocket.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The narrative demonstrates a convergence across defense, commercial space infrastructure, and international collaboration, suggesting a strategic effort to integrate orbital capabilities into national security frameworks while simultaneously pushing commercial launch technology toward global deployment. The shift in leadership for Space Operations, emphasizing deterrence against foreign technological threats, points to a heightened geopolitical awareness regarding the domain of space, moving it from purely scientific exploration to a domain of strategic competition. The agreement by the EU to expand IRIS² illustrates how transnational entities are leveraging space infrastructure not just for utility but explicitly for collective security and defense positioning. Simultaneously, the development of scalable commercial launch systems like GHOST indicates a push toward democratizing access to space, which inherently introduces new dynamics regarding orbital security and proliferation control. The juxtaposition of official government appointments (like leading the NRO) alongside private sector innovations (Rocket Lab’s GHOST) requires examining the implicit tension between centralized state control over strategic assets and the decentralized innovation driving space access. The implication is that future geopolitical leverage will increasingly reside in the ability to rapidly deploy and control orbital assets, regardless of their origin.
Bridge questions: How do the established frameworks for in-space deterrence correlate with the emerging commercial launch capabilities? What are the unspoken agreements or conflicts underlying the expansion of satellite constellations like IRIS²? If global deployment is prioritized, what mechanisms are being established—or neglected—to manage the security and accountability of shared orbital environments?