GAO backs use of commercial satellites to host military payloads
by Sandra Erwin — July 30, 2018
“Using hosted payloads may help facilitate a proliferation of payloads on orbit, making it more difficult for an adversary to defeat a capability."
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon should use commercial satellites as host platforms for military sensors and communications packages, says a new Government Accountability Office report released on Monday.
GAO auditors investigated the pros and cons of “hosted payloads†and agreed with what private satellite operators have been saying for years: The military can save money and get capabilities on-orbit faster by hitching rides on commercial satellites. The industry has been building huge spacecraft that have extra carrying capacity, and hosting national security payloads is viewed as a profitable business that also helps the military fill a need.
https://spacenews.com/gao-backs-use-of-commercial-satellites-to-host-military-payloads/
