Arlington, VA | November 6, 2025 — The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies is pleased to announce a new entry in its Research Studies series, A Broader Look at Dynamic Space Operations: Creating Multi-Dimensional Dilemmas for Adversaries by Col Charles S. Galbreath, USSF (Ret.), Senior Resident Fellow for Space Studies at the Mitchell Institute.

Legacy U.S. space system designs were premised on a peaceful, non-hostile space domain and operated static missions in energy-constant orbits. Space is now a warfighting domain, with new and growing threats to space systems, plus increasing operational demands on U.S. space capabilities. New capabilities that increase the resilience and effectiveness of the U.S. military’s space architecture are needed. Space operations must similarly transform to one defined by dynamic space operations (DSO)—employing these new capabilities with the ability to frequently and rapidly change parameters to achieve mission effects.

A broad application of DSO will increase the overall flexibility of the U.S. space architecture, thereby accelerating a greater application of long-standing principles of warfare such as maneuver and surprise, which will in turn increase resilience and mission effectiveness. It will facilitate the employment of new missions and novel approaches to help U.S. forces maintain the initiative and create compounding problems for potential adversaries—ultimately strengthening the deterrent posture of the United States.
Should the United States fail to adapt and adopt dynamic space operations, its vulnerabilities in the domain will endure and risk losing U.S. space superiority—a unique advantage that is foundational to all U.S. joint operations. Now is the time to accelerate dynamic space operations.

The Mitchell Institute’s Research Studies serve as an authoritative avenue for innovative, in-depth, insightful, and effective ideas and solutions for strengthening America’s aerospace power.

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