Dual Use, Dual Benefit: International Agreements Facilitate Commercial Space Integration Published Oct. 27, 2025 By Mr. Richard Saxon, Director, International Affairs, Space Systems Command, U.S. Space Force LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Leveraging commercial capability is a key space acquisition strategy that multiplies when we combine it with international space partnerships. Through endeavors such as the Global Commercially Contracted Satellite Communications Support Partnership (GCC SATCOM SP), the USSF’s International Affairs Office is breaking new ground in multi-national contracting to streamline commercial integration into Allied space architectures. GCC SATCOM SP is a collaborative initiative established between the U.S. and Luxembourg by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) in 2022. The Netherlands joined in January 2025. This partnership program creates a collaborative framework for NATO allies and other member nations to leverage the ability to jointly fund and share SATCOM capacity, gateways, and any other related COMSATCOM assets for the purpose of defense and security. SES’s Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) Global Services (MGS) was the first contract awarded under GCC SATCOM SP, leveraging the use of SES’s O3b mPOWER constellation to deliver secure high-performance low-latency satellite services for government entities in the United States and Luxembourg, enabling naval, air and ground communications around the globe. These high-performance connectivity solutions accelerate governments’ access to cutting-edge satellite technology that will also enhance allies’ disaster response capabilities and bolster their overall resiliency. Space Systems Command’s (SSC) International Affairs (IA) Office spearheaded the initial exploratory discussions and brought in other necessary SSC stakeholders to support the standup of the GCC SATCOM SP and the award of the first contract under the framework. Within the international SATCOM arena, we also are actively involved in the Allied SATCOM Future Architecture Working Group (FAWG). FAWG is comprised of military SATCOM representatives from the U.S. and 10 allied partner nations: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, and the United Kingdom. It is multi-nation working group focused on identifying and aligning SATCOM acquisition plans and evaluating areas to collaborate, co-develop, and integrate national systems. The primary purpose of the FAWG is to foster mutual understanding of future SATCOM architectures, needs, and priorities, as well as identify areas for deeper collaboration as an integrated “Allied-by-Design” SATCOM network to enable and enhance interoperability across sovereign nation systems. Both FAWG and GCC SATCOM SP support the Warfighting Analysis Center (SWAC) Space Data Network (SDN) Force Design to deliver multi-orbit, multi-frequency capabilities for path diversity and resiliency via a hybrid DoW purpose-built, commercial and international architecture. Read about the latest FAWG meeting here. # # # # A version of this article originally appeared in Space Power News.