Spacecom Focus Turns To On-Orbit Mobility In 2025

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama—The ability to move and maneuver in space is now one of U.S. Space Command’s priority areas of development, its commander, Gen. Stephen Whiting, said Aug. 5.

For several years now, the command has pointed to kinetic and non-kinetic space fires, battlespace awareness, operational and tactical, space command-and-control and cyber defensive capabilities as key areas to develop.

In 2025, “sustained space maneuver” was added to the top five focus areas, Whiting said at the annual Space and Missile Defense Symposium here.

“We’re elevating the importance of executing maneuver without regret, especially in geosynchronous orbit, where assets like space situational awareness satellites must have the agility to move when and where they’re needed to enable space superiority,” he said.

Whiting has emphasized the need to build capabilities to maneuver in and around space to enable dynamic space operations. Meanwhile, the proposed fiscal 2026 U.S. Space Force budget funds a handful of on-orbit mobility demonstrations with commercial providers, but otherwise offers meager investments for a more robust capability.

In his 30-min. keynote speech, which he used to demonstrate the time window within which an adversary missile could hit its target, Whiting also called for the U.S. to continue its investment into heavy- and super-heavy lift launch capabilities, referencing new or in-development rockets built by Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance.

“Leveraging this massive lead in space allows us to outmaneuver, outpace and maintain our advantage over Russia and the [Chinese Communist Party],” he said.