The US Space Force is prioritizing the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into its operations. Chandra Donelson, the service’s chief data and artificial intelligence officer, stated, “My two top priorities for the United States Space Force is accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence and data capabilities, and my second is putting tools and capabilities into the hands of warfighters.”
This initiative is outlined in the Space Force's Data and Artificial Intelligence FY 2025 Strategic Action Plan, a roadmap for becoming more data-driven and AI-enabled. The plan, updated annually, encourages industry participation. Donelson emphasized, “If you see things in here that you can help me get after, call me, come meet with me.”
Key initiatives include “AI Challenges,” hackathons where Space Force members, known as guardians, develop solutions to operational and acquisition issues. The first challenge attracted over 350 participants, with the top teams presenting at the Spacepower Conference. This year’s challenge already has over 200 entrants. Each Space Force field command has established boards to coordinate data and AI efforts, ensuring synchronization and tangible benefits for operational personnel.
This mirrors the Department of Defense’s broader “AI first” strategy, as stated by Emil Michael, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering: “That means every new thing we do, we have to think about how AI can be brought into it. Should AI be brought into it? How it should be brought into it, and how it will change the nature of what we do.” Recent Pentagon contracts awarded to major tech companies aim to integrate cutting-edge commercial AI into national security.
For the Space Force, AI applications are critical for tasks like tracking orbital objects, detecting interference, and processing intelligence data. Gillian Bussey, the service’s deputy chief science officer, highlighted the need to modernize legacy systems: “A lot of our space systems, and particularly in our ground control stations, are technologies from 20 or 30 years ago, they haven’t been modernized.” Automating these systems will free operators to focus on higher-priority tasks. Addressing information overload is also vital, as Bussey noted: “Our battle spaces are getting saturated with information, we’re overloaded with information… getting the information you need and getting it in a way that you can actually act on it.”
Michael emphasized the need to utilize the vast amounts of data the Pentagon possesses: “We gather a lot of data, and that data is an asset. How do we use that asset, interpret it and use it to our advantage?”