Arlington, VA | August 20, 2026 — The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies announces a new entry in its Forum Paper series, Launch Is an Event, Sustainment Is the Campaign: Building an On-Orbit Sustainment Ecosystem, by Lt Col Allison M. Barkalow, USAF.

Battles are won by weapons; wars are won by the ability to sustain them. While this logic now extends to orbit, the United States is not yet prepared. Launch replacement remains effective for many missions, especially proliferated LEO constellations, but it is insufficient for high-value, fuel-limited GEO systems. These assets are neither redundant nor replaceable on crisis timelines, and they are increasingly vulnerable targets.

The technologies and commercial services needed to support on-orbit sustainment are emerging, but they have not yet been integrated or scaled into the dependable logistics network the U.S. Space Force says it will need during conflict. If the U.S. Space Force wants an integrated on-orbit logistics network, deliberate government action is necessary. Making appropriate future national security spacecraft service-ready can reduce barriers to servicing and expand the potential market for commercial providers. Developing and validating interoperable standards with allies and industry can increase the number of spacecraft and customers those providers can support. Creating a pathway for mature commercial logistics services to provide assured capacity during crisis or conflict can give the U.S. Space Force access to those capabilities without building a separate government-owned logistics fleet. Together, these actions can help move emerging capabilities toward a commercially supported logistics network that is available when national security missions require it.

Mitchell Institute’s Forum Papers present innovative concepts and thought-provoking insight from aerospace experts here in the United States and across the globe. As a means to afford publishing opportunities for thoughtful perspectives, Forum Papers provide high visibility to writing efforts on issues spanning technology and operational concepts, defense policy and strategy, and unique interpretations of changing geopolitical relationships. This paper is also a winner of The Air & Space Forces Association’s (AFA) Research and Writing Awards, presented annually to graduates at Professional Military Schools. The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies facilitates the publishing of these papers in recognition of their achievement.

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